The World Privacy Forum filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission today regarding the circumvention of users’ expressly stated browser privacy choices without notice. “The World Privacy Forum requests that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigate Google, Vibrant Media, Media Innovation Group, and Pointroll for potential violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act. These companies willfully overrode users’ privacy preferences as expressly stated by the users in their browser settings. Overriding privacy preferences and doing so without notice are both unfair and deceptive business practices.” The complaint further requests the Commission look into the companies’ violations of the NAI code, and in Google’s case, violation of its consent agreement with the Commission.
The complaint cites the Buzz consent order, an order that EPIC also cited in filing its own action to compel the FTC to block Google’s announced privacy policy changes, slated to go into effect March 1.
The latest brouhaha arose after publication of research by Jonathan Mayer, Safari Trackers.