Google, cookies, and the battle over browser privacy settings
Google has found itself suddenly enmeshed in a battle over how it uses cookies, small pieces of code for tracking users through their web browsers. While some argue that Google's use of cookies invades user privacy, Google claims it is simply using common web practices for innocuous tracking.
After Facebook privacy snafu, FTC may force companies to admit wrongdoing even if they settle
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...
Google to pay $22.5 million to settle privacy charges
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...
Web & Social
FCC reportedly approves $22.5 million Google fine for Safari cookie scandal
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...
Google facing FTC's largest fine ever for circumventing Safari's cookie blocker, says WSJ
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 facing FTC fine for circumventing Safari privacy settings, says Bloomberg
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...
Google facing more privacy litigation, according to WSJ
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...
Web & Social
The shocking extent of web tracking for targeted ads
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...
Microsoft
Google responds to Microsoft over privacy issues, calls IE's cookie policy 'widely non-operational'
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...
Microsoft
Google also bypasses user privacy settings in Internet Explorer, says Microsoft
Just a few days after the Wall Street Journal reported that Google, Facbeook, and others have been using a workaround to bypass the cookie restrictions in Apple's Safari and Mobile Safari web browsers, Microsoft now claims that Google has taken similar measures to bypass privacy settings in Internet Explorer. Microsoft says that Google is improperly representing its cookies by using a non-standard P3P cookie policy statement: it claims that "Google's P3P policy is actually a statement that it...
Apple
Google and others caught circumventing Safari and Mobile Safari privacy restrictions (updated)
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google and several prominent online advertising networks have been using a workaround to bypass the privacy restrictions on Apple's Safari and Mobile Safari web browsers, allowing the companies to deposit cookies on a user's computer even if the device is set to prevent such behavior. At issue is the way Safari treats cookies. Under its default settings, both the desktop and iOS versions of the app only accept the files, which can be used to track browsing...
