Google Inc. (GOOG) is negotiating with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over how big a fine it will have to pay for its breach of Apple Inc. (AAPL)s Safari Internet browser, a person familiar with the matter said.
The fine could amount to more than $10 million dollars, said the person, who declined to be identified because the talks are confidential. The fine would be the first by the FTC for a violation of Internet privacy as the agency steps up enforcement of the Web.
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A pedestrian walks past Google Inc. signage displayed at company headquarters in Mountain View, California. Photographer: Tony Avelar/Bloomberg
The FTC is preparing to allege that Mountain View, California-based Google deceived consumers and violated terms of a consent decree signed with the commission last year when it planted so-called cookies on Safari, bypassing Apple softwares privacy settings, the person said.
FTC spokeswoman Claudia Bourne Farrell declined to comment. Google spokesman Chris Gaither wasnt immediately able to comment.
The cookies allowed Google to bypass Safaris built-in privacy protections to aim targeted advertising at Safari users. Google said at the time it didnt anticipate this would happen and that it was removing the files since discovering the slip and cooperating with officials investigating the matter.
The Safari breach was first identified by Stanford researcher Jonathan Mayer, who published a blog on his discoveries Feb. 16.
Unfair and Deceptive
The FTC is charged with protecting consumers against unfair and deceptive practices under the law that created the agency. European regulators are probing Google more broadly on its privacy policy and sent a detailed questionnaire to the company in March.
Google signed a consent decree with the FTC last year in which it agreed it used deceptive tactics and violated its own privacy policies in introducing the Buzz social-networking service in 2010. The 20-year settlement bars Google from misrepresenting how it handles user information and requires the company to follow policies that protect consumer data in new products.
The FTC has the authority to levy fines for violations of its consent decrees of up to $16,000 per day per violation.
