Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Google and FTC Near Deal for Record $22.5 Million Fine over Safari Privacy Circumvention

deann. i think theres two parts, one is people dont like being tracked. and two, it sets up an idea that can be used for bad things. Imagine going to a website to do research on cancer, then get a call from your insurance company upping your premiums. If google can track your activity and sell the info, what makes you think theyll stop at consumer advertising?

thats the one that scares me.
 
Wow. Google really is sinking low since Android. They're thieves and pirates.
 
Google does Evil.


If I were google I would embrace my new face and just tell everyone they are evil
 
deannnnn said:
To be perfectly honest, I don't understand why people freak out about these "privacy concerns." It's not like they're stealing your social security number or your credit cards, they're tracking your web habits to better tailor their services to you. I'd rather have ads specifically designed for me than just random whatever. They're not tricking me into buying anything, they're just saying hey, you looked at t-mobile.com recently, here's what they offer if you're still interested.
Click to expand...

One, I rather not have ad at all.

Two, showing ads is just a very small part of what they can do with generic data. They can use your behaviors for ao much more if they want to. Who to say that they're not doing it now. Remember the day where psychologists have to ask you to fill out surveys just to do their research? Those questionnaires were pretty generic too.
 
RedCroissant said:
It's pretty awesome that the fine is substantial as opposed to a simple slap on the wrist and being told not to do it again.

I didn't use Google services much at all before this story first broke and stopped using Google almost completely afterward.

It's also nice to see Apple moving away from Google as a business partner and perhaps this story will cause many of the consistent Google users to reconsider their use.
Click to expand...

Substantial ?

Allow me to put this into perspective.

During the American NFL season some players get fined $25,000 for some kind of infraction. These players average ..umm..say $5 Million a year.
Most people consider this nothing. They say " hey. The guys a millionaire. It's chump change to him. He will keep doing it."

Now Google.

They pay $25 Million and that sounds like a lot but it's not. Google brings in BILLIONS of dollars a year. It's chump change to them also.

They will do other things..

;)
 
louis Fashion said:
Hey wait, they track ME and the GOVERNMENT gets the fine cash?
I want my cut.
Click to expand...

Exactly. This is like a criminal secretly gathering my info & habits, only to be found out by the police, then fined, and the police department gets the cash reward without even giving me a nod. They get money for our misfortune?
 
That's nothing in terms of monetary value to a company as large as Google. I'm glad, however, that they did have to pay something. The potential class-action suits might worry me if I was Google.
 
flipnap said:
ever since google got busted driving around europe stealing wifi data, then saying "oh we didnt know we were doing that, its a bug" i stopped trusting them.. and once again theyre showing what kind of snakes they are. They couldve been a really cool company and gone far but greed is a powerful force.
Click to expand...

In this case, I actually believe that Google did not intend to do evil.

I find it utterly insane that people are still not securing their wi-fi and connecting to their email service not using SSL. Years ago I personally forgot my email password, but it was saved in my email client. I just downloaded a packet sniffer and was amazed how easy it was to see my email account/password in the clear.
 
rbonzer said:
In this case, I actually believe that Google did not intend to do evil.

I find it utterly insane that people are still not securing their wi-fi and connecting to their email service not using SSL. Years ago I personally forgot my email password, but it was saved in my email client. I just downloaded a packet sniffer and was amazed how easy it was to see my email account/password in the clear.
Click to expand...

I'm also pretty sure the case came down to one or a couple of programmers who put their own code in that wasn't sanctioned by Google. So to say the company was doing it wrong. Ultimately they are responsible - but it wasn't like it was mandated from the top or even requested.
 
I noticed that virtually every federal agency has been announcing record fines of one sort or another. They must need the money. The fines are always long post facto for behavior that changed a few days after the letter was sent. The "victims" never get any compensation. This is a pure federal money grab.

Rocketman
 
Peace said:
Substantial ?

Allow me to put this into perspective.

During the American NFL season some players get fined $25,000 for some kind of infraction. These players average ..umm..say $5 Million a year.
Most people consider this nothing. They say " hey. The guys a millionaire. It's chump change to him. He will keep doing it."

Now Google.

They pay $25 Million and that sounds like a lot but it's not. Google brings in BILLIONS of dollars a year. It's chump change to them also.

They will do other things..

;)
Click to expand...

The number isn't substantial to them, but it is to me and you. The story and hit to the brand image will be a lot more tangible than cash. This is them being labeled as scummy and it coming on US Government letterhead.
 
This is why you shouldn't use Apple products, they are slow, buggy and full of security holes.
 
Dear FTC,

A $22.5 million fine on a company worth billions does nothing to teach a lesson. Make it $22.5 billion and then we'll talk.

Until then, this isn't going to make Google any less arrogant. It will probably just embolden them more because they know they can get away with this stuff..
 
Hardly a deterrent

Record fine, meh...

This is chump change to a company googles size.

As opposed to having a deterrent effect, the fact that this will hurt not one bit, will likely encourage such push the limit behavior by Google, and others, in the future...

Edit: thought I was bringing something new here, but by reading other comments, I see I am not alone in my scorn for pathetically low regulatory fines...
 
Last edited:
Flitzy said:
Dear FTC,

A $22.5 million fine on a company worth billions does nothing to teach a lesson. Make it $22.5 billion and then we'll talk.

Until then, this isn't going to make Google any less arrogant. It will probably just embolden them more because they know they can get away with this stuff..
Click to expand...

Hmmm. Would you say the same if Apple had been brought up on charges by the FTC for their privacy violations? Something tells me you wouldn't.
 
serogers1970 said:
Or go with Yahoo. Yahoo has always been my homepage/email/search engine.
Too bad Firefox has gone to complete crap in the past year (AKA past 10 full number updates). Not a fan of any of the three browsers, but Chrome is the lesser of the three evils in my opinion.
Click to expand...

The problem is that Yahoo's search system is pretty inferior to Google's. As is Bing (which itsself is based on Yahoo).

Interestingly, Bing was literally stealing Google results for a while (no idea if it still is), so it shows how much of a lack in confidence MS must have in it. http://gizmodo.com/5748843/google-caught-bing-stealing-its-search-results

Many people put up with Google as there simply is no alternative.

For example:

There are no other decent free email services with a half decent webmail interface
There is nothing to rival youtube
There is nothing to rival maps (and no, Apple will not be a viable rival)
There is nothing to rival image search
There is nothing to rival Google Earth
etc

We need someone new to enter the market IMO.
 
rmwebs said:
There are no other decent free email services with a half decent webmail interface
Click to expand...

The new Hotmail/MSN is actually quite nice and minimal.

rmwebs said:
There is nothing to rival youtube
Click to expand...

Vimeo is much nicer, cleaner, and doesn't have the horrible kiddy community that Youtube has.

rmwebs said:
There is nothing to rival maps (and no, Apple will not be a viable rival)
There is nothing to rival image search
Click to expand...

Have you used Bing? Their maps are absolutely ten thousand times better than Google and their image search is much nicer too. Give it a try.

rmwebs said:
There is nothing to rival Google Earth
Click to expand...

Meh, Google Earth is a gimmick any way.
 
I'm having trouble believing that $22.5 Million is the largest fine the FTC has ever levied. That's not even pocket change for Google.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back