Google may pay $22.5mln for bypassing privacy settings using Apple Safari browser

Washington, July 10 (ANI): Internet search giant Google is close to paying 22.5 million dollars to settle charges that it bypassed the privacy settings of customers using Apple's Safari browser, according to a report.

A Wall Street Journal report said the fine would be the largest penalty ever levied on a single company by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

The charges involve Google's use of special computer code, or 'cookies,' to trick Apple's Safari browser so Google could monitor users that had blocked such tracking.

According to The Age, Google disabled the code after being contacted by the Journal.

Google, however, claimed that tracking of Apple users was inadvertent and did not cause any harm to consumers, the newspaper reported.

"The FTC is focused on a 2009 help center page. We have now changed that page and taken steps to remove the ad cookies," Google told the Journal.

Meanwhile, Google is also being investigated by the European Union to determine if the company complies with Europe's stricter privacy laws. (ANI)