Google to Pay $22.5 Million Settlement in Safari Privacy Circumvention Case

[angrynstupid]

Peanuts

Google's eventual settlement with Vringo for stealing search patents will cost them hundreds of millions ... perhaps billions. Moo-hah-ha!

 

[Zaim2]

What do we, the Safari Users get for our privacy being violated?

They didn't get fined for using the cookie hack, thats common place and multiple sites including Facebook used it before Safari finally updated it.

Google got fined for having a help page saying Safari users don't have to opt out of tracking Ads in their Ad manager since Safari would do it automatically, so when that wasn't the case it broke their previous agreement with the FTC for not misleading users.

If they did the same thing without the help page saying otherwise, they wouldn't have got fined.

Eitherway, the breach required you to be signed in to Google and then click a +1 button on an ad, which I can't imagine many here doing.

 

[lil'mac]

What happened to Google? It used to be a great innovative company, remember how they rocked the world with their search engine? Their Gmail? Their Docs? Google Voice?

Now they turned into this monster that steals everything from their own customers info to other people's software. Seriously Google, get your act together.

Shouldn't this have been expected? After all, Search/Gmail/Docs/Voice are all "free" services. Did we as consumers really think that their goal was to simply provide us with free stuff out of the goodness of their hearts? Or, said differently...there's no such thing as a free lunch

 

[petsounds]

So where's my share of the money? I'm the one who's got his privacy violated.

Well, this is just an FTC fine. I believe there's also a class-action suit in the works. Of course, you probably won't see much money from that either, but the lawyers working the case might get new Porsches.

 

[LaWally]

An honest mistake. Time to move on.

 

[shulerg]

I don't think it's about money. I think this fine is about image. What will you think of a corporate that got fined the biggest on privacy issue, something like that.

Well, considering most people seem to have memory spans of no more than 10 sec, I doubt their image will suffer in the long run.

Sufficiently damaging fines would remove incentives to engage in such deceptions (or at least make them very expensive).

 

[Aodhan]

This is why I don't use Chrome. I think it's probably a pretty good browser too, I've tried it and liked it. But I just do not trust Google.

 

[iMacFarlane]

It really seems to me that, although $22.5 Megadollars may be a lot to you and me, it's insignificant to the two companies involved, so that, just like in divorce cases, the only entity that really profits are the lawyers. So, the money just goes on to justify this nonsense and perpetuate it.

 

[Razeus]

This is why I'm switching my email from GMail to Outlook. Now with this social networking thing, GMail is clearly overstepping its boundaries.

 

[faroZ06]

I don't really care about Google taking info from me in an anonymous mass info thing. The only reason I would ever care about this stuff is if it was using a significant amount of bandwidth or computer resources.

----------

This is why I'm switching my email from GMail to Outlook. Now with this social networking thing, GMail is clearly overstepping its boundaries.

Outlook is another name for "MSN" or "Hotmail". Let me tell you that you will have way less privacy on those super-hackable accounts. I used to get emails all the time from MSN or Hotmail accounts of my family/friends that were hacked.

I actually like AOL mail the best. It's basically the same as Google, but you get AIM instead of the lame Google chat.

 

[Taz Mangus]

It really seems to me that, although $22.5 Megadollars may be a lot to you and me, it's insignificant to the two companies involved, so that, just like in divorce cases, the only entity that really profits are the lawyers. So, the money just goes on to justify this nonsense and perpetuate it.

Got $.05 on you. There that is the eqivalent fine for you and me.

"Don't be evil <really small font>like us</really small font>".

 

[faroZ06]

Why do people insist on seeing Google as the "Good Guys?"

Big Brother is here - and his name is Google.

You're overreacting about a little mass data collection Google takes for advertising purposes. And the ads get blocked by AdBlock anyway

These secret little data collectors are not cool, but it's not going to hurt you.

 

[wkadamsjr]

I don't think it's about money. I think this fine is about image. What will you think of a corporate that got fined the biggest on privacy issue, something like that.

I'd be willing to bet about 80% of the population has no idea Google got fined $22.5 million and what they did to merit that fine.

And out of those that do, some couldn't care less and will continue to use Google. If I'm Google, I'm not complaining.

 

[Doomtomb]

Google found a loophole in Safari?

Shocking

 

[617arg]

You're overreacting about a little mass data collection Google takes for advertising purposes. And the ads get blocked by AdBlock anyway

These secret little data collectors are not cool, but it's not going to hurt you.

I don't know......with the rise of Google+ and Facebook there is a face and name to go along with all that data now. It's become far too personal and the potential and ease with which abuse can occur seems to be crossing a line.

 

[NY Guitarist]

An honest mistake. Time to move on.

This was NOT honest AT ALL. Purely deceptive.

This was no mistake, it was totally INTENTIONAL.

This fine is just the "cost-of-doing-business". It wouldn't surprise me if Google writes this off their taxes as a loss and gets a deduction for it.

 

[Pianoblack3]

Why do people insist on seeing Google as the "Good Guys?"

Big Brother is here - and his name is Google.

10 years ago, who'd have guessed our friendly search engine would split the line between Apple and Microsoft?

 

[NY Guitarist]

These secret little data collectors are not cool, but it's not going to hurt you.

Whether you think it will harm someone or not doesn't mean that it's OK or legal to deceptively bypass YOUR privacy settings!

 

[Pianoblack3]

You're overreacting about a little mass data collection Google takes for advertising purposes. And the ads get blocked by AdBlock anyway

These secret little data collectors are not cool, but it's not going to hurt you.

Suit yourself, but being watched 24/7 harms my privacy.

 

[roosta]

ok, so is there a fix coming to make sure this can't happen again or do we have to take google's word that they won't misbehave again?

 

[Technarchy]

You're overreacting about a little mass data collection Google takes for advertising purposes. And the ads get blocked by AdBlock anyway

These secret little data collectors are not cool, but it's not going to hurt you.

You like when Google breaks your security measures? Think about that before you answer.

 

[Pianoblack3]

What happened to Google? It used to be a great innovative company, remember how they rocked the world with their search engine? Their Gmail? Their Docs? Google Voice?

Now they turned into this monster that steals everything from their own customers info to other people's software. Seriously Google, get your act together.

Teenage years

 

[ericinboston]

Interesting that a common "loophole" in everyday law here in the USA NEVER amounts to guilt or lawsuits...it is a, um, a loophole...perfectly legal. There are all sorts of loopholes in Law and sooner or later they get closed...but a loophole is perfectly legal. If you buy a gun via a legal method and lawmakers later dislike part of the gun-buying-process is not going as planned by the law well then that folks is a poorly-written law and is termed to have a loophole in it.

Not sure who coined the phrase loophole here in regards to Google vs. Apple....personally I am not happy about what Google did but it was very likely legal and was within the boundaries of how iOS worked. Period. If Apple doesn't like the way a Developer is using the iOS or iOS codebase, change the code. Apple did...but then Google got sued. Software developers for decades have been finding ways to legally and contractually get things done without technically violating anything. Google didn't really "get caught"...they were just lambasted for doing it.

Google likely settled just so their name wasn't dragged around for years in courts...as well as the fact that this settlement amount was a drop in the ocean for them.

 

[racer1441]

Am I the only one who thinks this is stupid?

Google did wrong by potentially impacting my privacy, your privacy, etc.

In turn, to punish them, the Government will take money from Google.

They will then keep that money.

That should be going back to us, the users, not the government. I'd rather Google keep it.

 

[Oletros]

ok, so is there a fix coming to make sure this can't happen again or do we have to take google's word that they won't misbehave again?

I think that the hole was fixed time ago