UK Apple Users Sue Google Over Safari Tracking 101
Dupple writes "After settling with the FTC, Google is under pressure again regarding user privacy. From the BBC: 'A group of Apple's Safari web browser users has launched a campaign against Google over privacy concerns. They claim that Google bypassed Safari's security settings to install cookies which tracked their movements on the internet. Between summer 2011 and spring 2012 they were assured by Google this was not the case, and believed Safari's settings to be secure. Judith Vidal-Hall, former editor of Index On Censorship magazine, is the first person in the UK to begin legal action. 'Google claims it does not collect personal data but doesn't say who decides what information is "personal,"' she said. 'Whether something is private or not should be up to the internet surfer, not Google. We are best placed to decide, not them.'"
Re:How is this news? (Score:3, Informative)
The news is that in the EU it's illegal to track users with cookies without their consent. Google went out of their way to circumvent the security settings on Safari, such that they tracked users even when they's said no. And then on top of that Google lied about it, saying they weren't doing so.
It's illegal. There is no "it's already happening" defence.
Re:Can't let every consumer dictate what privacy i (Score:5, Informative)
Much as I can agree with the sentiment, we cannot allow every single consumer out there to dictate what constitutes privacy data. Perhaps google should publish what it deems as privacy information, and then allow the consumer to decide to play along or not.
What an excellent Idea. I wonder why Google Never Thought About That. [google.com]
I find Google far more forthcoming than most companies, and offering a much finer grained level of control.
I would also wager, that Judith Vidal-Hall has a facebook page, a Linkedin page. As far as I'm concerned, anyone signing up for either of those two services has abdicated all semblance of Privacy. Living in a country with CCTV cameras on every street corner, and a government hell bent on capturing every keystroke on your computer forever, how can she object if Google complies with her country's laws?