In February, the story broke that Google and other advertising companies were bypassing iOS Safari’s privacy settings and continuing to track users without their consent. Google quickly disabled its code responsible for the tracking after a story from The Wall Street Journal published, and Apple then claimed it was “working to put a stop” to the issue.
Now, a new report from Mercury News claimed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is considering whether to fine Google over the incident. The decision is expected in the next 30 days:
The report is referring to Google being recently fined $25,000 by the FCC after it allegedly “deliberately impeded and delayed” an investigation related to Street View cars. The heart of the Safari bypassing investigation is whether the company is violating a previous privacy agreement made with the FTC following controversy over the failed “Buzz” service. The report claimed Google could face up to $16,000 per violation per day for violating the agreement. Google said to Mercury News today it would “cooperate with any officials who have questions” and explained making its +1 compatible on mobile Safari created the issue:
When the story originally broke, Google issued a long statement to 9to5 outlining the issue, while debunking Microsoft’s claims that it does the same with Internet Explorer.
Cross-posted on 9to5Google.com
- Lawmakers ask FTC to investigate Google over mobile Safari cookies (9to5google.com)
- Google and other ad companies have been tricking iOS Safari into accepting ad cookies, regardless of security settings (9to5mac.com)
- Microsoft says Google bypasses IE’s privacy settings too (Updated w/Google statement) (9to5google.com)
