FTC Fines Google $22.5m over Safari Tracking Row

Google has been fined $22.5m by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for monitoring users of Apple's Safari browser who had specifically selected the 'do not track' privacy option.

While the FTC says this is the largest fine it has ever imposed on a single company, it's not the methods the search giant used to by-pass Safari's tracker cookie settings that are considered wrongdoing - technically the fine is for Google's misrepresentation of its actions.

The issue was first spotted by a Stanford University researcher who was studying targeted advertising, and in February, news broke that Google had been accused of embedding a code on millions of iPhones, to enable it to gather user information on homepage visits.

While the Safari browser has been configured to block third-party cookies, Google managed to by-pass this feature. The code was installed on ads from sites such as Fandango.com, Match.com, AOL.com, TMZ.com and UrbanDictionary.com, and once in place, Google was able to track user movement across a broad range of web sites.

After the practice had been exposed, Google deleted the program and denied all charges that it had collected private information from users, saying that the code could only be activated if users opted in to one of its services, such as Gmail. However, the firm did admit that the code had 'inadvertently' enabled Google web ad cookies to be installed on users' phones without their permission.

Commenting on the fine, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement: 'No matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place.'