Google, cookies, and the battle over browser privacy settings – The Verge

Google agrees to pay states $17 million in browser privacy settlement

2013-11-18T15:33:47-05:00

Google New York Chelsea Office (STOCK)

Google has entered into a $17 million settlement with 37 states and the District of Columbia after the company was found to circumvent privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser. Between 2011 and 2012, Google secretly stored web tracking cookies in Safari, overriding Apple's default settings that forbid third-party cookies from being installed. "By tracking millions of people without their knowledge, Google violated not only their privacy, but also their trust," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. His state will receive $899,580 of the settlement money.

Last year, Google agreed to pay another settlement of $22.5 …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Judge dismisses suit against Google for bypassing Safari privacy settings

2013-10-10T18:06:03-04:00

Google 3D logo white stock 1020

A Delaware judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Google for secretly storing Safari cookies even when users had opted out. In a ruling from yesterday, Judge Sue Robinson wrote that the plaintiffs - who had filed suit under a variety of privacy and anti-hacking laws - hadn't proved real harm under any of them, nor had they convincingly argued that Google had violated their legal rights.

The basic facts of the case aren't particularly in dispute. In early 2012, researchers discovered that Google and several advertising networks had found an exploit that let them surreptitiously store cookies through the Safari and mobile Safari b …

Read the full story at The Verge.

After Facebook privacy snafu, FTC may force companies to admit wrongdoing even if they settle

2012-08-11T18:18:41-04:00

Facebook Password lock

The FTC settled two high-profile cases with Google and Facebook this week, but in both cases the technology giants got off without having to admit any wrongdoing in the cases. Google simply will pay its $22.5 million fine, while Facebook' privacy policies will be assessed by a third party every two years, among a number of other restrictions - but terms of the settlement mean that both companies are exempt from owning up to the behaviors that got them into trouble in the first place. In the wake of these high-profile cases, the New York Times is reporting that the FTC is planning to re-examine the practice of letting companies settle without …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google to pay $22.5 million to settle privacy charges

2012-08-09T11:39:47-04:00

Google logo

Google has agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty to settle FTC privacy charges that the search giant ignored user settings within Apple's Safari browser. The figure, rumored for some time now, is the largest fee the agency has ever collected for such a violation. Google violated a prior privacy agreement with the FTC earlier this year when it bypassed browser settings by placing cookies on a user's computer - even if they had been specifically disabled in settings.

"The record setting penalty in this matter sends a clear message to all companies under an FTC privacy order," said FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz of the agreement. ""No matter how b …

Read the full story at The Verge.

FCC reportedly approves $22.5 million Google fine for Safari cookie scandal

2012-07-31T16:58:38-04:00

iOS Safari Cookies Settings 640

We heard that the FCC and Google were near a $22.5 million settlement for Google's part in circumventing Safari users' cookie privacy settings, and now Reuters is reporting that the FCC has voted to approve the fine, with an official announcement expected in the next few days. Rather than a straight fine, this settlement is being described as a "consent decree," which allows Google to settle with the FCC without admitting liability. The crux of this issue comes from a discovery earlier this year that Google (as well as other ad networks) were circumventing Safari privacy settings which allowed the companies to deposit cookies, despite browse …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google facing FTC’s largest fine ever for circumventing Safari’s cookie blocker, says WSJ

2012-07-10T05:52:37-04:00

safari cookies 1020 stock

Five months after the first news that Google circumvented users' cookie settings in Apple's mobile and desktop Safari web browsers, it looks like the company is close to settling the matter with the FTC for $22.5 million. According to The Wall Street Journal, there is a good chance that the penalty will be the largest the Commission has ever levied on a single company.

Google has maintained that users want the behavior

By default, Safari only accepts cookies from sites that users have actually visited, or from things that the user clicks, like ads. In this default state, advertisers can't leave cookies on users' devices, so in order to get a …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google facing FTC fine for circumventing Safari privacy settings, says Bloomberg

2012-05-04T15:10:30-04:00

iOS Safari Cookies Settings 640

Google may be in the process of negotiating with the US Federal Trade Commission over a fine for using an invasive advertising cookie on Safari. According to Bloomberg, "a person familiar with the matter" says that the company could pay up to tens of millions of dollars over a violation of privacy safeguards. If the case goes forward, the FTC will apparently allege that Google "deceived consumers and violated terms of a consent decree signed with the commission last year" when it tracked Safari users' web activity regardless of their privacy settings.

If Google pays this fine, it could still face investigation by the EU, which is also rumor …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google facing more privacy litigation, according to WSJ

2012-03-16T11:01:02-04:00

Google Logo 640px

The Wall Street Journal has reported that US and EU regulators are investigating Google for its circumvention of Safari's privacy settings, according to "people familiar with the investigations." The scandal, which was also broken by the WSJ, revolved around Google using an invasive advertising cookie that tracked web activity regardless of the users privacy settings, and Microsoft quickly called Google out for the same issue.

According to the report, the use of this cookie may have violated a previous settlement regarding misrepresentation of its privacy practices, and has sparked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to look into any potenti …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The shocking extent of web tracking for targeted ads

2012-03-01T12:18:39-05:00

Computer lady - Shutterstock

Alexis Madrigal at The Atlantic has an insightful and information-packed piece about the many companies which semi-anonymously track your web browsing habits all for the purpose of targeting you with better ads. A lot of the larger companies - Google, Facebook, Microsoft - have come under scrutiny for such practices, but hundreds of smaller companies on most websites are doing the very same thing. And yes, it's a huge money maker. One of Madrigal's best points, however, is not about the volume of tracking, or the frequency with which we are all tracked online, but the fact that we have not, as a society, had a real, public debate about some o …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Google responds to Microsoft over privacy issues, calls IE’s cookie policy ‘widely non-operational’

2012-02-20T22:06:17-05:00

Google logo

Earlier today, Microsoft accused Google of manipulating Internet Explorer's default privacy restrictions in order to "bypass user preferences about cookies." Google's just responded with a lengthy rebuttal, arguing that Microsoft's P3P cookie technology is "widely non-operational," and that the issue has been around since 2002. The response also points to other offenders, citing a 2010 Carnegie Mellon research paper that says over 11,000 websites don't use valid P3P policies.

Google's also specifically bringing Facebook and Amazon into the fracas, citing their similar use of the P3P bypass. Google references Facebook's policy on P3P cookies …

Read the full story at The Verge.