Privacy Caucus members urge FTC to determine if Google violated recent consent agreement with Safari tracking practice

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Mere weeks after Google’s announcement of troubling changes to its privacy policy and less than a year after the company reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for alleged privacy misrepresentations, The Wall Street Journal now is reporting that Google and several other online-ad companies have been bypassing the privacy settings of users of Apple’s Safari Internet browser to track users’ online activities.  The media story explains that to get around Safari’s default blocking of tracking by online-ad companies, Google exploited a loophole in the browser’s privacy settings that allowed the company to install a cookie on a user’s phone or computer without their consent or knowledge

Today, Congressmen Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas), co-Chairmen of the Bi-partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, and Cliff Sterns (R-Fla.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, sent a letter asking the FTC if this most recent revelation constitutes a violation of its recent settlement with the company.

“Google’s practices could have a wide sweeping impact because Safari is a major web browser used by millions of Americans,” write Reps. Markey, Barton, and Stearns to the FTC. “As members of the Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, we are interested in any actions the FTC has taken or plans to take to investigate whether Google has violated the terms of its consent agreement.”

A copy of the letter to the FTC can be found HERE.

Google recently announced changes to its privacy policy and terms of service will allow the company to follow the activities of users across nearly all its services without giving consumers the choice to say no to the new policy.

In May, Reps. Markey and Barton introduced the “Do Not Track Kids Act of 2011”, legislation that amends the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to extend, enhance and update the provisions relating to the collection, use and disclosure of children’s personal information.  The legislation also establishes new protections for the personal information of children and teens.
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