Google Settles FTC Probe Into Privacy Charges With $22.5 Million

[engine]

Google Settles FTC Probe Into Privacy Charges With $22.5 Million [reuters.com]

Google Inc will pay $22.5 million to settle charges that it bypassed the privacy settings of customers using Apple Inc's Safari browser, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday.

The deal ends an FTC probe into allegations that Google used computer code known as "cookies" to trick Apple's Safari browser on iPhones and iPads, so that Google could monitor users who had blocked such tracking.

[TypicalSurfer]

Laws and regulations are simply business negotiations with captured regulators. I'm sure the ROI on the transaction was a net positive for google.

BTW kiddies, don't try privacy violations at home, you are not in the club, you will go to jail.

[netmeg]

Couch change to Google.

[albo]

Does the punishment exceed the gain?

[bordering]

G being fined 22.5 million is like me being fined 12p.

[mhansen]

That's not a fine... it's a Privacy Tax, just another cost of doing business in the USA.

A REAL fine would take away 70-80% of their revenue every quarter going forward, then send them an automated letter stating they are in violation of US laws and business quality guidelines. Point them to the Justice Dept legal library in Wash DC, and let Google spend 9-12 months trying to figure out what they did wrong. Finally, when they feel its corrected, allow them to file a reconsideration request.

Oh wait... that would be kinda unfair to that to a business wouldn't it?

[diberry]

A REAL fine would take away 70-80% of their revenue every quarter going forward, then send them an automated letter stating they are in violation of US laws and business quality guidelines. Point them to the Justice Dept legal library in Wash DC, and let Google spend 9-12 months trying to figure out what they did wrong. Finally, when they feel its corrected, allow them to file a reconsideration request.

+1

[heisje]

Oh, the laugh they had at the 'Plex!

[Leosghost]

Jail time for CEOs and CFOs ..that would work , fines in any "niche" of corporate life mean nothing, the "corp" ( shareholders ) and eventually their customers, pay it..

Meanwhile the CEOs and CFOs, laugh all the way to the bank, whose CEOs and CFOs are also laughing, but louder still , because they got the government handouts,( voted by their "friends", and "golf buddies", the politicians and lawmakers, who they bribe^^^^^lobbied over the years, paid for by the taxpayers, the foreclosed and the poor working people, and the small businesses ) for being incompetent, or crooks..

[anallawalla]

Google would have a large team to manage Risk and Compliance matters and they are probably asked in respect of each project to estimate the cost of potential penalties if caught. As someone said, there would be a lot of sniggering at the 'Plex.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

To a company that makes Billions per quarter this is really chump change for something that isn't trivial and for something Google has a penchant for doing if at all possible. The "creepy line" as CEO Schmidt calls it, illegal if you ask anyone else.

The squeaky clean tech nerd persona is gone.

[timwilliams]

Aside from the amount of the fine, the really sad thing here is that google was not made to admit they they did anything wrong. They still claim that they did nothing wrong, it was an inadvertent mistake, yet amazingly they were able to precisely target users with ads because of this inadvertent mistake.

The squeaky clean tech nerd persona is gone.

That's being kind SK, evil is as evil does.

[zehrila]

This lost 22 million will be recovered from us, by shoving us more ads, promoting their own services more etc!