Google fined 'over privacy breach'

Google has agreed to pay a US $22.5 million (€18.3 million) fine to settle allegations that it broke a privacy promise by secretly tracking the online activities of millions of people who use Apple’s Safari web browser, sources said.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the pending settlement.

If approved, the fine would be the largest penalty ever imposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The agency has been investigating whether unauthorised changes Google made to Safari’s privacy settings violated a recent FTC agreement prohibiting the company from misleading consumers.