WSJ: FTC Close to Record $22.5 Million Settlement with Google

Mountain View, Calif. -- Technology giant Google is nearing a $22.5 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over privacy issues experienced by users of Apple's Safari web browser, The Wall Street Journal reported. The FTC alleges that Mountain View-based Google used cookies to track the activities of Safari users and send them targeted advertisements through its DoubleClick ad network. The fine would be the largest ever assessed to a company by the FTC, The Journal said.  Google said the tracking was inadvertent. "The FTC is focused on a 2009 help center page," the company said in a statement. "We have now changed that page and taken steps to remove the ad cookies."
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