According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Google would be paying $22.5 million for bypassing the privacy settings of Apple’s Safari users. This deal puts an on the probe by FTC regarding allegations on Google for using cookies to monitor Safari users on
iPhones and iPads. This practice has been deemed to be in violation of the consent decree which Google had negotiated with the FTC in 2011. This negotiation was brought out with respect to Google Buzz which is not functioning anymore.
As part of the settlement, Google does not have to admit to any liability. However, when compared to Google revenues of $12.21 billion, the mere fine that the company has to pay is a drop in the bucket. Although this was clearly negative public relations for the company.
