Google to pay $22.5 million to settle privacy charges

Google

Google

Google Inc is close to settling charges that it bypassed the privacy settings of customers using Apple Inc’s Safari browser, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Google will pay $22.5 million to settle the matter, said one of the sources, who spoke privately to protect relationships. The fine would be the largest penalty ever levied on a single company by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, according to the Wall Street Journal which reported the potential settlement late on Monday. The largest currently is the $15 million paid by ChoicePoint Inc in 2006 after a data breach, according to a third source. Read the full story at Reuters.

Author:

Shelly Palmer

Shelly Palmer is Fox 5 New York's On-air Tech Expert (WNYW-TV) and the host of Fox Television's monthly show Shelly Palmer Digital Living. He also hosts United Stations Radio Network's, Shelly Palmer Digital Living Daily, a daily syndicated radio report that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology, media, and entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group, LLC an industry-leading advisory and business development firm and a member of the Executive Committee of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards).