Google will shell out $17 million to settle charges it violated Safari users privacy by dropping cookies on their machines without their consent. The Wall Street Journal exposed the practice in early 2012 and Google quickly removed the offending code. The settlement requires Google to not bypass cookie settings without a user s consent, nor may it fail to inform consumers of how Google serves personalized ads to them via their browsers. Google generated $2.97 billion in online advertising revenue in the third quarter of 2012.
Source: https://threatpost.com/google-pays-17m-privacy-settlement-to-37-states/102966/