Blumenthal Applauds FTC Decision To Hold Google Accountable For Privacy Violations

(Hartford, Conn.) – Today, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) applauded the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for holding Google accountable for bypassing privacy settings in Apple’s Safari browser to show advertisements and violating an earlier privacy settlement with the government agency. The FTC fined Google $22.5 million to settle charges for these violations – the largest civil penalty ever levied by the commission. In February, Blumenthal requested information from Google after the media published reports about the company’s violations.

“This enforcement action is appropriate against Google's significant breach of consumer privacy,” Blumenthal said. “Google's misconduct highlights the need for more effective privacy protections, as I have supported, to assure that individual rights and choices are respected. The result here recognizes that consumer choices – to block ads, cookies, or other tracking – were disregarded and circumvented. Such abuses show why Do Not Track legislation and other safeguards are urgently necessary.”