- Apr 25, 2013
- 5,355
Google has lost its bid to block a lawsuit brought by British users claiming the company breached their privacy.
Today's high court ruling means Google will have to face the case in the UK's courts, despite claiming it wasn't subject to British privacy laws.
The company is being sued by a group of more than 100 users who claim Google collected data on their PCs and phones using cookies that circumvented the Safari browser's privacy settings.
Google said it would appeal against the ruling, arguing the case doesn't meet the standards required to go to trial in the UK.
"We want to know how Google came to ignore user preferences to track us online"
But high court judge Mr Justice Tugenhadt noted the issues Google raised were in a "developing area" and that it would be costly and difficult to resolve the case in the US.
Tugenhadt also batted off Google's claim that it collects anonymous data, meaning it doesn't breach individual privacy.
"I find this a surprising submission to be made on behalf of Google," he wrote in the judgement. "It would not collect and collate the information unless doing so enabled it to produce something of value."
He added that collecting individuals' data yielded "spectacular revenues" for Google.
Protecting users
Law firm Olswang, representing the group, is seeking recompense for the damage to Google's alleged victims. Judith Gore-Vidal, one of the claimants campaigning for the group, called on Google to explain how it circumvented Safari's privacy settings.
"We want to know how Google came to ignore user preferences to track us online; how did they get around Apple’s program settings – they have said it was accidental, but how do you accidentally interfere with someone else’s program?" she said.
"This case is about protecting the rights of all internet users who use a company that is virtually a monopoly but seems intent on ignoring their right to privacy," she added.
Google has paid multiple fines in the US over the same issue, forking out $17 million to settle with several states and a $22.5 million fine to the Federal Trade Commission.
Under the terms of the US settlement, Google agreed to stop using the code which overrode Safari's browser settings without user content. It also agreed to provide consumers with more information about cookies for the next five years.
A class-action suit in Delaware was thrown out after the claimants failed to prove any real damage.
"A case almost identical to this one was dismissed in its entirety three months ago in the US," a Google spokesperson said. "We still don’t think that this case meets the standards required in the UK for it to go to trial, and we’ll be appealing today’s ruling."
Today's high court ruling means Google will have to face the case in the UK's courts, despite claiming it wasn't subject to British privacy laws.
The company is being sued by a group of more than 100 users who claim Google collected data on their PCs and phones using cookies that circumvented the Safari browser's privacy settings.
Google said it would appeal against the ruling, arguing the case doesn't meet the standards required to go to trial in the UK.
"We want to know how Google came to ignore user preferences to track us online"
But high court judge Mr Justice Tugenhadt noted the issues Google raised were in a "developing area" and that it would be costly and difficult to resolve the case in the US.
Tugenhadt also batted off Google's claim that it collects anonymous data, meaning it doesn't breach individual privacy.
"I find this a surprising submission to be made on behalf of Google," he wrote in the judgement. "It would not collect and collate the information unless doing so enabled it to produce something of value."
He added that collecting individuals' data yielded "spectacular revenues" for Google.
Protecting users
Law firm Olswang, representing the group, is seeking recompense for the damage to Google's alleged victims. Judith Gore-Vidal, one of the claimants campaigning for the group, called on Google to explain how it circumvented Safari's privacy settings.
"We want to know how Google came to ignore user preferences to track us online; how did they get around Apple’s program settings – they have said it was accidental, but how do you accidentally interfere with someone else’s program?" she said.
"This case is about protecting the rights of all internet users who use a company that is virtually a monopoly but seems intent on ignoring their right to privacy," she added.
Google has paid multiple fines in the US over the same issue, forking out $17 million to settle with several states and a $22.5 million fine to the Federal Trade Commission.
Under the terms of the US settlement, Google agreed to stop using the code which overrode Safari's browser settings without user content. It also agreed to provide consumers with more information about cookies for the next five years.
A class-action suit in Delaware was thrown out after the claimants failed to prove any real damage.
"A case almost identical to this one was dismissed in its entirety three months ago in the US," a Google spokesperson said. "We still don’t think that this case meets the standards required in the UK for it to go to trial, and we’ll be appealing today’s ruling."
