Google target of new federal privacy probe
Source: Mercury News
Hard on the heels of being fined $25,000 for allegedly blocking a federal privacy investigation, Google (GOOG) is enmeshed in a second federal probe into its privacy practices that could soon bring an even more painful hit to the search giant's pocketbook, this newspaper has learned.
The Federal Trade Commission is deep into an investigation of Google's actions in bypassing the default privacy settings of Apple's (AAPL) Safari browser for Google users, according to sources familiar with ongoing negotiations between the company and the government.
Within the next 30 days, the FTC could order the Mountain View search giant to pay an even larger fine in the Safari case than the penalty the Federal Communications Commission hit Google with Friday, say the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The FCC fined Google $25,000 after finding that the search giant "deliberately impeded and delayed" its investigation into a 2010 privacy breach involving its Street View cars.
The FTC investigation focuses on whether Google violated the terms of an existing settlement involving privacy problems with its ill-fated "Buzz" social network in 2010,
Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_20410748/google-target-new-federal-privacy-probe
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