A lawsuit has been filed against Google, alleging it "unlawfully tracked" 4.4 million iPhone users in the UK, which could be worth as much as £3.2 billion.
According to a report by The Guardian , Google has been stealing data from iPhone users through a bug in the Safari browser . This security flaw was found by a researcher in 2012 and was dubbed the “Safari Workaround,” which allowed Google to amass personal user data.
The information collected allegedly includes users' gender, social class, location, physical and mental health, political beliefs, shopping habits, and financial data. This data was used to categorize users into groups for the purpose of "better targeting for advertising.".
However, the internet giant claims that there is no evidence that the Safari Workaround resulted in the leakage of personal data to third parties and there is no way to determine if anyone was affected by it.
Anthony White, the lawyer defending Google, said this lawsuit is aimed at destroying the company's image of accountability, rather than finding compensation for those affected.
Google UK communications manager Tom Price said the events in this case “took place six years ago” and that it “addressed that time.” He also noted that “the privacy and security of our users is extremely important to us” and believes the case “has no merit and should be dismissed.”
