Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Omaha Steve

(99,074 posts)
Tue Nov 19, 2013, 05:30 AM Nov 2013

Google to pay $17M to settle Safari privacy case

Source: AP-Excite

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google is paying $17 million to 37 states and the District of Columbia to make amends for the Internet search leader's snooping on millions of people using Safari Web browsers in 2011 and 2012.

The settlement announced Monday stems from a technological loophole that enabled Google's DoubleClick advertising network to shadow unwitting Safari users, even though the browser's maker, Apple Inc. (AAPL), prohibited the tracking without obtaining a person's permission. By following what Safari users were doing online, DoubleClick could gain more insights about what types of ads were most likely to appeal to different Safari users.

This is the second time that authorities in the U.S. have cracked down on Google for its secret shadowing of Safari users from June 2011 through mid-February of last year. The Federal Trade Commission fined Google $22.5 million last year. It represented the largest penalty that the FTC had ever collected for a civil violation.

Google Inc. has maintained the Safari intrusion was an inadvertent side effect of an attempt to make it easier for people to recommend ads.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20131118/DAA5AHAG1.html





In this Dec. 6, 2011 file photo, the Google logo is seen on the carpet at Google France offices, in Paris. Google said, Monday, Nov. 18, 2013, it is paying $17 million to 37 states and the District of Columbia to make amends for the Internet search leader's snooping on millions of people using Safari Web browsers in 2011 and 2012. ( (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, Pool, File)

1 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Google to pay $17M to settle Safari privacy case (Original Post) Omaha Steve Nov 2013 OP
To whom and to what purpose will this money go? frazzled Nov 2013 #1

frazzled

(18,402 posts)
1. To whom and to what purpose will this money go?
Tue Nov 19, 2013, 11:07 AM
Nov 2013

As a Safari user, I'm just curious. I guess it will mostly go to lawyers, or get absorbed into general funds in these states. It's not a lot of money. So I doubt anything will change, either.

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Google to pay $17M to set...