Google has had numerous problems around the world thanks to their privacy violations, especially surrounding their complicity in National Security Agency (NSA) spying. Indeed, the German interior minister told Europeans to avoid using Google if they fear NSA surveillance.
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In the latest case, individuals who used Apple’s Safari browser on their devices between September 2011 and February 2012 claim that Google was able to bypass all Safari security settings and harvest browsing data with a temporary cookie.
The cookie was used to collect information on users’ online browsing habits which was then leveraged to serve personalized ads, according to a Wall Street Journal report published in February of 2012.
Google disabled the code after it was revealed, according to The Register, though the company claimed that the Wall Street Journal actually “mischaracterized” the code.
Google was eventually slapped with a $22.5 million fine over the incident.
The U.S. case served as inspiration for a new case brought by individuals in the UK, though The Register reports that “Google continues to insist that alleged privacy breaches in Britain do not apply to the company because its software resides in California.”
The internet giant further claims that any lawsuit like this should not be heard in a UK court since, according to Google, the court has no jurisdiction over the U.S.-based company.
Google’s lawyers claim that the users’ expectations of privacy and confidentiality when using a search engine were unrealistic, adding that the browsing habits of individuals should not be strongly protected.
This is quite similar to what Google recently said about the users of their email service having no legitimate expectation of privacy.
One of the UK claimants, Judith Vidal-Hall, sharply criticized Google for their stance on this case.
“Google’s position on the law is the same as its position on tax: they will only play or pay on their home turf,” Vidal-Hall said, according to The Register. “What are they suggesting – that they will force Apple users whose privacy was violated to pay to travel to California to take action when they offer a service in this country on a .co.uk site?”
Indeed, that seems to be exactly what Google expects. A statement from the law firm Olswang LLC, which is working on behalf of those who filed the lawsuit stated that Google declined to be served the lawsuit in the UK.
Instead, Google told the claimants to serve the company in California.
“This matches their attitude to consumer privacy,” Vidal-Hall said. “They don’t respect it and they don’t consider themselves to be answerable to our laws on it.”
Marc Bradshaw, another claimant, called the claims being made by Google “absurd” since Google “is operating in the UK and is even constructing a $1bn headquarters in London.”
Bradshaw said that “fines would be useless” against Google given the company’s massive revenue. He urged data watchdogs to “rein in” the company, according to The Register.
Indeed, Google has been fined multiple times for everything from spying on people with Street View cars to breaking FTC rules. None of these fines have even been what one could consider a drop in the bucket for Google.
Google’s claims in this case are far from new, as The Register points out, the company “has regularly claimed that it is not subject to European Union privacy law because its software is developed and based in the U.S.”
Currently, Google is fighting the British Information Commissioner’s Office along with authorities in France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands over privacy violations, according to The Register.
However, European Union has been considering privacy legislation that would radically change the way Google operates and likely eliminate any ability for the company to make these kinds of claims.
EU Justice Commissioner Vivane Reding, who was heavily involved in the data protection bill, told The Register’s Kelly Fiveash in 2010 that the proposed bill would force Google and other U.S.-based companies to abide by EU legislation.
“The [planned] law is for everyone who does business on the territory of Europe, whatever the origin of the business might be,” Reding said. “So you cannot hide anymore by saying ‘I do not have my headquarters in Europe.’”
If that legislation, which is currently being examined by the European Parliament, is successful, it would prevent similar claims by Google and others in the future. Until then, it remains to be seen if Google’s claims will be taken seriously in the UK.
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