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Are States Taking the Lead to Enforce Digital Privacy Laws?

By Bradley S. Shear
December 30, 2013

Recently, 37 states and the District of Columbia reached a $17 million dollar settlement with Google over its intentional circumvention of Internet users' privacy settings. The case stemmed from 'Google's bypassing of privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser to use cookies to track users and show them advertisements in 2011 and 2012.' See, 'Google to Pay $17 Million to Settle Privacy Case,' NY Times.com. This multi-state agreement followed Google's $22.5 million dollar settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the same practice. See, 'Google Will Pay $22.5 Million to Settle FTC Charges it Misrepresented Privacy Assurances to Users of Apple's Safari Internet Browser,' FTC.com. In total, Google has paid approximately $40 million dollars to federal and state regulators for intentionally harming the personal privacy rights of Internet users in this matter.'

Google's ability to circumvent Apple's Safari browser setting was uncovered and publicized by The Wall Street Journal on Feb. 17, 2012. See, 'Google's iPhone Tracking.' According to The Wall Street Journal's investigation, Google and several other advertising 'companies used special computer code that trick[ed] Apple's Safari Web-browsing software' into letting them track the Web-browsing habits of users who tried to protect their personal privacy. Id. After the WSJ contacted Google about its alleged illegal activities, the company disabled the code. However, one has to wonder why the WSJ needed to contact Google in order for it to stop violating the personal privacy rights of Internet users?

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