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
 

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)
Tue Nov 19, 2013, 03:21 PM Nov 2013

NY joins $17 million multistate settlement with Google over tracking of consumers

NEW YORK – New York’s attorney general entered into multistate a settlement agreement with Google Inc. concerning its unauthorized placement of cookies on computers using Apple Safari Web browsers during 2011 and 2012. Of the $17 million in settlement money, New York will receive $899,580.

"Consumers should be able to know whether there are other eyes surfing the web with them. By tracking millions of people without their knowledge, Google violated not only their privacy, but also their trust," Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. "We must give consumers the reassurance that they can browse the Internet safely and securely. My office will continue to protect New Yorkers from any attempts to deliberately expose their personal data."

Google operates the most popular search engine on the Internet. Use of the search engine is free, so Google generates revenue primarily through advertising. Through its DoubleClick advertising platform, Google sets third-party cookies — small files set in consumers’ Web browsers — that enable it to gather information about those consumers. Depending on the type of cookie, this information could include consumers' Web-surfing habits. Apple’s Safari Web browser is set by default to block third-party cookies, including cookies set by DoubleClick to track a consumer’s browsing history. From June 1, 2011, until February 15, 2012, Google altered its DoubleClick coding to circumvent those default privacy settings on Safari, without consumers’ knowledge or consent, enabling it to put DoubleClick cookies on consumers’ Safari Web browsers. Google disabled this coding method in February 2012 after the practice was widely reported on the Internet and in the media.

http://empirestatenews.net/News2013/20131119-1.htm

Latest Discussions»Region Forums»New York»NY joins $17 million mult...