Google pays $17 million compensation over privacy breach
Google circumvented Apple's Safari privacy settings in 2011 and is now to pay compensation

Google has agreed to pay compensation after admitting it overrode privacy settings on Apple's Safari browser Photo: AFP

By Daniel Johnson
12:31PM GMT 19 Nov 2013

Google has agreed to pay $17 million in compensation to 37 US states over tracking consumers online without their knowledge.
The settlement was for Google circumventing privacy settings in Apple’s Safari browser in 2011.
Safari blocked tracking cookies by default, but Google overrode the settings to track users both on desktop computers and iPhones.
Eric Schneiderman, New York State Attorney General, announced the agreement and said that the technology giant had “violated not only their [users] privacy, but also their trust.”
He said: “Consumers should be able to know whether there are other eyes surfing the web with them.
“We must give consumers the reassurance that they can browse the internet safely and securely.
“My office will continue to protect New Yorkers from any attempts to deliberately expose their

personal data.”
Google agreed last year to pay a $22.5 million fine to the US Federal Trade Commission on the same issue. The latest settlement includes the federal District of Columbia and 37 states. New York is to receive
$899,580.
Google said in a statement: “We work hard to get privacy right at Google and have taken steps to
remove