CASE REPORT

FTC vs. GOOGLE

CASE DETAIL

Plaintiff :Federal trade commission USA

Defendant :Google

Court:-

United States District Court for the Northern District of California

Judge:-

SUSAN ILLISON

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION:-

The Federal Trade Commission is the nation's consumer protection agency and one of the government agencies responsible for keeping competition among businesses strong. Its job is to make sure companies compete fairly and don't mislead or trick people about their products and services.

INTRODUCTION :On August 8, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). filed a complaint alleging that Google Inc. (Google)violated a buzz consent order.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND :This action arises from Googles alleged violation of a previous consent order with the FTC. In the prior action, the FTC alleged that when Google launched its social networking tool, Google Buzz, it used Gmail users private information despite telling those users it would only use that information for Gmail services. The FTC also alleged that Google misrepresented to its Gmail users hat it would not automatically enroll them in the Buzz network and that they could control what information would be public on their profiles.

In October 2011, the FTC settled its Buzz investigation with Google through a consent order that prohibited Google from future misrepresentations regarding: (1) Its collection and use of private information and its customers control over that information (2) Its membership and compliance with privacy or security programs.

Plaintiff Claim :-

On August 8, 2012, FTC alleges that Google violated the first part of the Buzz consent order through the placing of cookies on users computers without their knowledge. Google uses cookies to collect information from users web browsing activity, and uses this information to tailor its advertisements. Google allows users to opt out of these cookies through an opt-out button they can click in their preferences, or through downloading an opt-out cookie plugin. Google does not offer the plugin to users of the Safari internet browser, but it assured users that the Safari default settings would block cookies. The FTC alleges that Google overrode the Safari software that blocked cookies, and secretly collected cookies from Safari users.

The FTC alleges that the misrepresentations of collecting private information and using targeted advertisements violated the first part of the Buzz consent order. The FTC also alleges that Google violated the second part of the Buzz consent order. Google represents that it is a member of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), and in compliance with NAIs self-regulatory code of conduct. NAIs code requires that members post notices specifying its data collection processes. The FTC alleges that Googles use of Safari cookies without informing its users violated the NAI code, and thus violated the second part of the Buzz consent order.

DEFENDANT CLAIM :Google said they allow the companys DoubleClick network to see if Safari users were signed in to Googles services. If so, the cookie allowed Google to serve personalized ads or gain the ability to use its +1 button. Google then pins the problem on Safari; the statement says the browser "contained functionality that then enabled other Google advertising cookies to be set on the browser." The search giant said it didn't expect this to happen and is now "removing these advertising cookies from Safari browsers."

Google insists that the original cookie enablement was done anonymously and no personal data was collected. To enable these features, we created a temporary communication link between Safari browsers and Google's servers, so that we could ascertain whether Safari users were also signed into Google, and had opted for this type of personalization. But we designed this so that the information passing between the user's Safari browser and Google's servers was anonymous--effectively creating a barrier between their personal information and the web content they browse.

However, the Safari browser contained functionality that then enabled other Google advertising cookies to be set on the browser. We didn't anticipate that this would happen, and we have now started removing these advertising cookies from Safari browsers. It's important to stress that, just as on other browsers, these advertising cookies do not collect personal information. Users of Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome were not affected.

VERDICT

The Proposed Order outlines three requirements for Google. 1- Google must pay a civil penalty of $22.5 million 2- Until February 15, 2014, Google must maintain systems that delete Google cookies from Safari browser users. 3- Google must report to the FTC within twenty days of February 15, 2014,