FTC Drops $22.5 Million Fine On Google, But Is It Really Apple’s Fault?

Google said Thursday it will pay a record $22.5 million civil penalty after a Federal Trade Commission investigation that it assuring users of Apple’s Safari browser that it would not install tracking cookies on their computers or display targeted ads in violation of a previous privacy settlement with the FTC.
Some people, however, are blaming Apple for altering how Safari handles cookies and question how Google could have known.
Here is a joint statement from Berin Szoka, president of TechFreedom, and Geoffrey Manne, Executive Director of the International Center for Law & Economics:
“The size of today’s fine will make headlines but it is a distraction from the real story: The FTC holds Google liable for a statement in a help page that was true when made and became untrue only because Apple quietly changed how its Safari browser handles cookies. Of course, companies do have a duty to ensure the accuracy of what they tell consumers about privacy as their own practices evolve. But holding them responsible for monitoring everything their rivals do that might affect their own past privacy statements will only discourage them from explaining their privacy practices in the first place. This is sadly ironic, as policymakers have spent years bemoaning the inadequacy of privacy policies and demanding companies do more to educate consumers. This is, at best, a pyrrhic victory for privacy.”