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Privacy issues: Google gets sued by Safari users

A few users claimed that Google bypassed security settings on their Safari browser

Google has lost a Court of Appeal over a bid to stop consumers from having the right to sue them in the UK. The case was from a couple of Safari users against Google, where the latter had bypassed security settings on their Safari browser and accessed their tracking cookies. Tracking cookies were installed in order to target them with advertising.

According to the report on BBC, Google was disappointed with the decision, while one of the claimants called it ‘David and Goliath victory’.

Safari, the browser used on Mac machines, Apple iPads and iPhones. Tracking cookies, small text files, are stored on the computer by the browser, which records the user’s online browsing activity. These text files help websites track their browsing habits to target them with personalized advertisements.

The claimants stated that Google had somehow managed a workaround on Safari and bypassed the security settings to access the cookies in the browser, without the user’s knowledge.

BBC stated that ‘the landmark case potentially opens the door to litigation from the millions of Britons who used Apple computers, iPhones, iPods and iPads during the relevant period, summer 2011 to spring 2012, said Jonathan Hawker who represents the Google Action Group, a not-for-profit company set up to manage claims against the internet giant for breach of privacy.’

BBC also reported that Google has already paid fines of over $40m related to this incident in the US. It was fined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and separately by 38 US states.

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