Google to Pay Record $22.5 Million to Settle With FTC

Search giant denies it intended to violate consumer privacy by circumventing Safari settings

Privacy advocates have been waiting for this one: Google agreed to pay a record $22.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it circumvented privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser. As part of the order, Google must disable all the tracking cookies it had said it would not place on consumers' computers.

The settlement is part of the FTC's ongoing efforts to make sure that companies live up to their own privacy policies. By imposing the largest fine it has ever obtained for a violation, the FTC hopes to send a clear message to other companies that might play fast and loose with privacy promises.

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