Google sued for iPhone snooping on 5.4m Britons
GOOGLE is being sued over privacy breaches on behalf of millions of Britons after it secretly accessed their iPhone browsing patterns.
The tech giant has already been fined more than £30million in the US over the scandal, which involved tens of millions of people around the world.
Now the former director of consumer group Which? Richard Lloyd is seeking compensation for up to 5.4million Britons whose privacy was invaded.
Google bypassed the default privacy settings on Apple’s Safari web browser to access the browsing patterns of people who owned an iPhone or iPad between the summer of 2011 and spring of 2012.
It appears to have used this data to cash in by sending targeted advertising to people using Google on their Apple device.
In 2015, the Court of Appeal ruled that consumers have the right to sue Google in the UK over the alleged breach.
Google subsequently settled a legal action brought by a small group of UK consumers before it went to trial.
Mr Lloyd is now bringing a ‘representa-
‘Massive abuse of trust’
tive action’ for compensation on behalf of the estimated 5.4million in England and Wales who were spied on by Google.
The case, the first of its kind in the UK, has been launched today under the label ‘Google you owe us’. People who owned an iPhone or iPad at the time will be automatically included unless they ask to leave via the YouOweUs.co.uk website. Those involved do not have to pay legal fees, conduct research or – at this stage – contact lawyers. Any compensation awarded will be limited to a figure that relates to the harm caused, and unlike in the US there is no scope for additional punitive damages.
Mr Lloyd said: ‘I believe that what Google did was quite simply against the law ... I’ve rarely seen such a massive abuse of trust.
‘By joining together, we can show Google that ... nobody is above the law.’
Law firm Mishcon de Reya is taking the case and the costs are being funded by the firm Therium, which will take a fee should it be successful. An initial court hearing is likely to be held next spring, but it could be three years before it is settled. Google has always argued no compensation is due because users suffered no financial harm.