Google Inc. To Pay $22.5 Million To Settle Privacy Charges-Reuters

Reuters reported that Google Inc. is close to paying $22.5 million to settle charges that it bypassed the privacy settings of customers using Apple's Safari browser, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials briefed on the settlement terms. The charges involve Google's use of special computer code, or cookies, to trick Apple's Safari browser so Google could monitor users that had blocked such tracking, the newspaper said. Google Inc disabled the code after being contacted by the Journal. According to Google, tracking of Apple users was inadvertent and did not cause any harm to consumers, the newspaper reported. The FTC is focused on a 2009 help center page. The Company have now changed that page and taken steps to remove the ad cookies, Google Inc told the Journal.