Consumers Launch Landmark Legal Case Against Google Snooping

London (ots/PRNewswire) -

A group of internet users has launched a landmark privacy case
against Google for undermining the security settings on Apple's
Safari browser to track online usage covertly.

In the first case of its kind in the UK, a number of people with
concerns about Google's behaviour have decided to take action and are
forming a campaigning group called Safari Users Against Google's
Secret Tracking.

They have instructed the law firm, Olswang, to coordinate the
claims and are marking Data Privacy Day tomorrow (Jan 28) by
launching a Facebook page to provide information to the many other
people who might also have been affected. The Facebook page can be
found at
http://www.facebook.com/SafariUsersAgainstGooglesSecretTracking

The claims centre around tracking cookies, which had been secretly
installed by Google on the computers and mobile devices of people
using Apple's Safari internet browser.

The first claimant to issue proceedings, 74-year-old Judith
Vidal-Hall, said: "Google claims it does not collect personal data
but doesn't say who decides what information is 'personal'. Whether
something is private or not should be up to the internet surfer, not
Google. We are best placed to decide, not them."

Through its DoubleClick adverts, Google designed a code to
circumvent privacy settings in order to deposit the cookies on
computers in order to provide user-targeted advertising. The
claimants thought that cookies were being blocked on their devices
because of Safari's strict default privacy settings and separate
assurances being given by Google at the time. This was not the case.

The practice was only stopped when an academic researcher noticed
Google's activity and published an expose in the United States.
Google was subsequently found to be in violation of an existing order
from the US Federal Trade Commission and was fined a record
$22.5million.

Olswang say that this action breached their clients' confidence
and privacy and are now seeking damages, disclosure and an apology
from the company.

Dan Tench, a Partner at Olswang, said: "Google has a
responsibility to consumers and should be accountable for the trust
placed in them. We hope that they will take this opportunity to give
Safari users a proper explanation about what happened, to apologise
and, where appropriate, compensate the victims of their intrusion."

For information on joining the claim, email
daniel.tench@olswang.com

Media enquiries: Olswang Press Office on +44(0)20-7067-3046.

ots Originaltext: OLSWANG LLP
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

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