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Google to Get $22.5 Million Wrist Slap: WSJ

The fine is reportedly the largest the Federal Trade Commission has ever levied
By Maureen O'Gara
Article Rating:
July 17, 2012 11:15 AM EDT
Reads:
 2,345

Google is reportedly close to paying a $22.5 million fine to settle charges that it secretly bypassed the privacy settings of millions of Apple users.

According to the Wall Street Journal, "the charges involve Google's use of a special computer code to trick Apple's Safari web-browsing software into letting it monitor users that had blocked such tracking" on their computers and iPhones.

Google claims it was inadvertent.

The fine is reportedly the largest the Federal Trade Commission has ever levied.

Google signed a consent decree with the agency just last October, pledging not to misrepresent its privacy policies to consumers. The paper says the penalty for violating the agreement is $16,000 per violation per day.

The FTC's board of commissioners has to approve the deal.

Published July 17, 2012 – Reads 2,345
Copyright © 2012 SYS-CON Media, Inc. — All Rights Reserved.
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More Stories By Maureen O'Gara

Maureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025. Twitter: @MaureenOGara

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