Google to Pay $17 Million In Safari Privacy Case

Back in August we heard that Google would pay $22.5 million for the privacy breach on Apple’s Safari browser, after the company was found to be getting past the privacy settings on the Safari browser.

What Google were doing was basically using special code to track a users Internet browsing, even when their privacy settings were set to block such tracking.

Now Google will have to pay a further $17 million settlement to the District of Columbia and 37 other states, Google has now also agreed to a range of terms, which you can see below to make sure this does not happen again.


Not deploy the type of code used in this case to override a browser’s cookie blocking settings without the consumer’s consent unless it is necessary to do so in order to detect, prevent or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues.

Not misrepresent or omit material information to consumers about how they can use any particular Google product, service, or tool to directly manage how Google serves advertisements to their browsers.

Improve the information it gives consumers regarding cookies, their purpose, and how the cookies are managed by consumers using Google’s products or services and tools.

Maintain systems designed to ensure the expiration of the third-party cookies set on Safari Web browsers while their default settings had been circumvented.

It is not clear as yet whether this is the last of the matter of Google and the Safari privacy breach, or whether there will be more for Google to pay in the future.