Last month, Google agreed to pay $8.5 million to a settlement fund over a
lawsuit claiming the site had given private information included in user search queries to third parties without gaining consent from users or notifying them that the information was being shared. The court approval for the settlement was scheduled for today, but five US privacy groups have requested that the settlement not be accepted.
PCWorld reports that the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Center for Digital Democracy, Consumer Watchdog, Patient Privacy and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse wrote a joint letter asking the court to reject Google’s proposed settlement agreement.
According to PCWorld, the settlement funds would be appropriated by a defined group of relevant organizations, and Google would “notify users as to its conduct so that users can make informed choices” when using the site to perform searches.
The privacy groups that drafted the letter fear Google’s settlement fails to make the search giant amend its business practices in the interest its users, and that the organizations wanting to settle the case and receive their fees, “have prioritized their own personal financial interests above the interests of the Class.”
Our partner site Search Engine Land has more information about the original case and the request by the privacy groups to reject Google’s settlement.
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