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Millions of British Safari users able to sue Google over secretly-dropped cookies

UK Safari users have been given the go-ahead to sue Google for continuing to drop cookies on their devices even after they had refused permission through their browser settings.

It was revealed in 2012 that Google bypassed the setting in Safari which instructed sites not to drop cookies, enabling it to deliver personalized ads. The FTC in the US fined the company $22.5M for the practice, with millions more in additional fines levied by 38 US states. There was no government action in the UK, but a group of British iPhone users took Google to court, seeking compensation for breaching their privacy.

Google had attempted to have the case dismissed, claiming that there was no case to answer as the plaintiffs had not suffered any financial harm, but the UK’s Court of Appeal has rejected this argument, allowing the case to proceed …

The BBC reports that the court considered the case to “raise serious issues” which justified a trial.

They concern what is alleged to have been the secret and blanket tracking and collation of information, often of an extremely private nature… about and associated with the claimants’ internet use, and the subsequent use of that information for about nine months. The case relates to the anxiety and distress this intrusion upon autonomy has caused.

The Google Action Group, a non-profit formed to manage claims in the case, said that millions of Britons would now be eligible to sue for compensation: anyone who had used Safari on a Mac, iPad or iPhone between summer 2011 and spring 2012.

Dan Tench, one of the lawyers acting for the claimants, said that he looked forward to holding Google to account.

Google, a company that makes billions from advertising knowledge, claims that it was unaware that was secretly tracking Apple users for a period of nine months and had argued that no harm was done because the matter was trivial as consumers had not lost out financially. The Court of Appeal saw these arguments for what they are: a breach of consumers’ civil rights and actionable before the English courts.

One of the claimants in the case, Marc Bradshaw, described it as “a David and Goliath victory.”

Update: Those wanting to join the case can do so at googleactiongroup.com. Note that at the time of writing, the site was not yet live.

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Comments

  1. برمجة مواقع - 9 years ago

    thanks alot

  2. danbridgland - 9 years ago

    Where do I sign?

    • Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

      You’ll be able to join the case on Monday – I’ll update with the link when it goes live

      • alano99 - 9 years ago

        Can you send me the link too please thank you

      • Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

        I’ll add it to the piece on Monday

      • Martin Richards - 9 years ago

        Thank you in advance for adding the link it’s about time we in the U.K. made a point with google. It’s just a shame the the suggestion by Apple to use DuckDuckGo doesn’t really work well as TBH it is a totally useless search engine would be nice if Apple came out with their own engine as they value privacy then at least we know we are searching safely.

  3. 311sie - 9 years ago

    I am shocked, just shocked that a company like Google would pull a stunt like that one!! :-D

    • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

      Is it really that surprising? We’ve all known for a LONG time that Eric Schmidt & Co. don’t give a hoot about your privacy, just try and find new ways to make us their products for ad revenue…

      • strawbis - 9 years ago

        I think you’ve missed the sarcasm in the comment you’re replying to. :D

      • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

        Not really, just thought I’d put that in anyways ;)

      • Go watch “Casablanca”, then you’ll get the allusion.

  4. So, seriously; I can sign up and get some cash from google? where’s the catch?

    • Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

      No catch, but given the numbers eligible to claim, any award is going to be pennies per person.

      • 89p13 - 9 years ago

        I disagree – the UK suit doesn’t appear to be a “Class Action Suit” – which is where the BIG winners are the Lawyers who present the case and take their legal fees out of the pot before any of the claimants.

        According to the article you posted – individuals will be allowed to sue Google – or they can band together.

        In the US, if you are part of a Class Action Suit you waive the right to sue as an individual. This insures that you, as a claimant, pay nothing and get what’s left over when the suit is settled.

      • Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

        Yep, you could do it individually, as you say, but I suspect anyone bothering at all will join the existing action.

      • As i understand it, civil litigation can be very different from criminal. This will sit before a jury, and it will be the jury that decides the damages, as such if the legal team suing google asked for information regarding numbers, and the numbers would have to be given, then surely ALL earnings from the number of affected machines is up for grabs, as those earnings would not exist had they complied with the settings… Add into that the punitive damages that can be awarded, and it may well be a little more than a few pennies…!!! It will be fun to see just how they get around disclosing how much they do earn in the UK though, the tax man will also be waiting in the wings… ;)

  5. Issue like this (with Google) aren’t going to stop so long as the penalties are insignificant. It’s time we saw a big draw on their cash reserves as a punitive measure. It’s also about time that Google divest their search business from their other operations – if they won’t do it on their own, they really need to be forced to do so. This is a more significant issue than ATT ever was decades ago, and the abuse of their monopoly search power more egregious than anything MSFT has ever done.

  6. Yutana Lin - 9 years ago

    What about US users?

  7. 89p13 - 9 years ago

    But, of course, the US will not allow us the same rights!

    Why? “Follow The Money” I wonder how many Google-Friendly Lobbyists blocked this in the US?

    • “The US will not allow us the same rights?”. This is an exception to the rule. The US is well known the world over for having a “sue them” culture.

  8. Chris Denny (@dennyc69) - 9 years ago

    Good! Google knew very well what it was doing and should be held responsible for it’s actions. It’s not about the money, but money is the only thing these companies respond to. Rake them over the coals!

  9. Don’t Be Evil indeed.
    They dropped the first word from that motto some years ago it seems, maybe when they decided to rip Java off so they could create “open” Android.

  10. Jeffrey Haiyang Qiao - 9 years ago

    Google have been doing this for a long time. Google Analysis is so offensive because it alway spy on you whether you allow or not. It is like stealing.

  11. hijaszu - 9 years ago

    Well, according to a site describing the technical details of how was it done (http://webpolicy.org/2012/02/17/safari-trackers/), Google software developers had at least that time write access to webkit’s code somehow (not necessarily directly to the repository, I don’t remember who is the developer of the webkit engine, Apple or Google). What do you expect from Google when it has the capability of modifying the web browser itself?

  12. John Smith - 9 years ago

    I’m all in favour of this.

    Google promotes BS about the NSA is spying on me as a distraction while all the time google is busy spying on anything and anything I do while I’m using their services (and sometimes when I am not)

    Remember … google openly promises to spy on any data: on entry, on exit and whilst at rest on their systems.

  13. Ben Ross - 9 years ago

    Send me the link please, I want to sign up.

  14. Typical Google. We all should sue them for spying on us!

  15. Richard Strangward - 9 years ago

    Welcome news, please let me know when & how to post my claim.

  16. DuckDuckGo covers 95% of my needs, and it’s good to know that my never-ending search for a copy of Stuart Maconie’s seminal movie “Swedish Biker Lesbo Nuns go Freebasing Crazy” will never be discovered by anyone on the interweb.

    Wait a minute…

  17. Toon Perez - 9 years ago

    Can you send me the link please

  18. Chris Maloney - 9 years ago

    My hubby wants to join in how does this work thanks To Ben Lovejoy

    • Ben Lovejoy - 9 years ago

      I’ll be posting the link when it goes live. Don’t expect more than a token payment if it succeeds, though …

  19. Cedric Tomas - 9 years ago

    thanks, hope I don’t forget to check the website regularly

  20. Brian Penny - 9 years ago

    When are you live. Let’s kick ass.

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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