Google Target of New Federal Privacy Probe

MercuryNews: On the heels of a $25,000 fine related to privacy violations by its StreetView cars, Google has become the target of another privacy-related federal investigation. This time, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating allegations that Google bypassed the default security settings on Apple’s Safari browser. Those actions could constitute a violation of Google’s 2010 settlement agreement related to its “Buzz” social networking service. If the FTC finds that Google did violate that agreement, the company faces fines up to $16,000 per day.

Google has said that any privacy violations related to Safari were inadvertent. “We will of course cooperate with any officials who have questions,” the company said.