A lot of companies and developers will you that your privacy is of the utmost importance to them. This is why companies such as Apple have baked in security settings in their apps like Safari designed to protect a user’s privacy, like blocking cookies from third-parties and advertisers by default.
However if you might recall, back in 2012 it was discovered that Google came up with a workaround that installed cookies on iPhones without the user’s consent, despite the fact that Safari technically blocked it. This is why a British campaign group called “Google You Owe Us” has launched a “representative action” on behalf of 5.4 million iPhone users in England and Wales that could see these users entitled to as much as £500 each, although this number varies as the £500 sum is from The Telegraph, while TNW is claiming £200.
Google has already faced legal action back in the US when the FTC fined the company $22.5 million for their actions, and now it seems that the campaign group in the UK feel like they’re entitled to some justice as well. “We have started a representative action against Google because we believe they abused the rights of iPhone users by taking their data unlawfully.”
Whether or not this campaign will be successful remains to be seen, although on their end Google claims that the case is without merit and doesn’t appear to be too worried. More information on the campaign can be found on its website.
Filed in . Read more about Google, iPhone, Legal, Privacy and Safari.