Updates on Developments in Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
The UK Supreme Court has granted Google the right to appeal part of the English and Welsh Court of Appeal’s notable ruling in Google Inc. v. Vidal-Hall & Ors [2015] EWCA Civ 311.
Our previous blog highlighted the facts of the case (brought by Internet users against Google’s ad-tracking…
Continue Reading UK Supreme Court Will Hear Google’s Appeal in Important Privacy Case
Dan Cooper and Phil Bradley-Schmieg
On March 27, 2015, the England and Wales Court of Appeal (EWCA) handed down a historic judgment in Google Inc v. Vidal-Hall & Ors [2015] EWCA Civ 311, with significant consequences for organizations handling personal data in, or from, the UK.
This case was brought against Google Inc. by three users of Apple’s Safari web browser. They argued that over a period of nine months, Google’s DoubleClick and AdSense services secretly tracked their visits to all websites that used Google AdSense to serve advertising, contrary to Google’s public assurances that users who maintained Safari’s default privacy settings would not be tracked or profiled by DoubleClick, or receive personalized advertising. This, they allege, allowed Google to wrongfully build up a detailed picture of their browsing history from which it could deduce their interests and personal characteristics, and thus serve personalized adverts. Similar cases have been brought against Google in the United States, leading to a US$22.5 million U.S. Federal Trade Commission fine and a US$17 million settlement with state attorneys general.
Continue Reading English Court of Appeal Decision Significantly Expands UK Privacy Law
Google has entered into a $17 million settlement agreement with attorneys general from 37 states and the District of Columbia over allegations that the company engaged in unauthorized tracking of users of Apple’s Safari browser in 2011 and 2012. The allegations stemmed from 2012 reports that Google had bypassed Safari’s…
Continue Reading Google Settles Safari Tracking Charges Brought by State AGs for $17 Million
By Katherine Gasztonyi
Last week, Judge Robinson of the District of Delaware dismissed a multi-district lawsuit claiming that Google, Vibrant Media, Media Innovation Group, and WPP violated federal privacy and computer security laws by allegedly circumventing browser privacy settings in order to track users online.
This lawsuit stems from a February 17, 2012, Wall Street Journal article describing these companies’ use of a loophole in Safari’s privacy settings to set third-party tracking cookies even where the browser had been configured to block such cookies. Lawsuits alleging violations of the federal Wiretap Act, Stored Communications Act, and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (as well as various state laws) were filed in courts across the country, and ultimately were consolidated before Judge Robinson in Delaware.
Judge Robinson granted the defendants’ motions to dismiss all of the plaintiffs’ claims on the grounds that the plaintiffs had not adequately alleged standing to sue in federal court and, in any event, had failed to state a claim for relief under any of the statutes invoked in their complaint.Continue Reading Court Tosses Claims Against Google and Others Based on Safari Hack
Today the Federal Trade Commission has announced its approval of a consent decree to settle charges that Google misrepresented to users of Apple’s Safari browser that it would not place tracking “cookies” or serve targeted ads to those users, violating an earlier privacy settlement between the company and the FTC. The decree…
