Up to 10 million UK iPhone users – and many more Safari surfers – could have grounds to sue Google after claims that the company secretly tracked them online by sidestepping Apple’s security settings.
The issue centres on the Safari browser, which is designed to block cookies from recording which sites users have visited.
However, Google found a way to disable the block without telling users, allowing the firm to monitor web habits on the iPhone, iPad, and desktop versions of Safari.
At least ten British iPhone users have started legal proceedings and dozens more are being lined up, according to Dan Tench, a lawyer at the London law firm Olswang which is behind the action.
He said: “It is particularly concerning how Google circumvented security settings to snoop on its users. One of the things about Google is that it is so ubiquitous in our lives and if that’s its approach then it’s quite concerning.”
A letter before action has been sent to Google executives in the US and UK on behalf of two users, including Judith Vidal-Hall, the privacy campaigner and former editor of Index on Censorship. Another ten are preparing to launch proceedings.
Individual claims are unlikely to be high but the sheer scale of the action is likely to push up the costs for Google.
The legal action comes just months after Google was hit with a $22.5m (£14m) fine in the US over a similar privacy breach between summer 2011 and spring 2012 – also on the Safari browser. It also follows the Street View fiasco.
Big Brother Watch director Nick Pickles said: “This was no accident, Google did this without users consent, so it’s no surprise to see consumers seeking redress through the courts.”
Google declined to comment. A statement it released at the time of the $22.5m fine last July claimed it had “collected no personal information” with the cookies.
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