Google To Pay $17 Million Due To Unauthorised Tracking in Safari Browser

One of the core foundations of the search engines’ business is the collection of user data so that it will be able to provide accurate and relevant search results for any person looking for something on the internet. A big chunk of this data collection effort is contributed by browser cookies on your browser. However, in recent years, many companies have blocked the use of tracking cookies due to privacy issues. 

One of the core foundations of the search engines’ business is the collection of user data so that it will be able to provide accurate and relevant search results for any person looking for something on the internet.

A big chunk of this data collection effort is contributed by browser cookies on your browser. However, in recent years, many companies have blocked the use of tracking cookies due to privacy issues. Apple was one such company and blocked by default the use of tracking cookies on its Safari browser.

But apparently, there’s a loophole in Apple’s browser that still allowed for placing cookies on users’ machines freely and without them knowing. Google used this loophole override settings in Safari allowing the placement of such cookies. Unfortunately for the search giant, researchers from Stanford were able to detect the problem, which lead to a nationwide investigation.

Today, Google has agreed to pay $17 million to the FTC, following a suit brought by 37 states in the United States including the District of Columbia for its unauthorised actions. Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time that the search giant was apprehended for such practice. Back in 2012, Google has also paid $22.5 million to the FTC over the same issue.

 

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