The U.S. Federal Trade Commission voted to approve a settlement with Google over the company’s efforts to bypass Safari’s privacy settings, according to Reuters. That settlement includes a US$22.5 million fine to settle the charges, but allows Google to admit no wrongdoing.
Google was targeted by the FTC for inserting code into its online ads that bypassed Apple’s privacy settings on Mobile Safari. The code allowed Google to track users mobile online movements, even on sites outside of where Google’s ad was originally used. Google characterized its code at the time as a, “workaround [to] make Safari work like all the other browsers.
The FTC took exception to this practice, and Google disabled the code after the regulatory body launched an investigation. While the penalty represents a large fine for the FTC, companies like Google and Apple can pay such amounts by shaking the couch for change in the executive lounge.
News of the settlement and fine leaked earlier in July, and Tuesday’s story is simply that the FTC has voted to approve the settlement. The settlement has still has not been officially announced, something that will take place in a few days.
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