Search engine giant Google will be fighting the High Court’s decision that it can be sued for an alleged breach of privacy in the UK, despite the fact that the company is based in the US. On January 16, 2014, the High Court ruled that the American company can be sued by a group of Britons over an alleged breach of privacy.
The company is based in the US and claims that the case was not serious enough in order for it to fall under British jurisdiction. The search engine is dealing with a group action by users of Apple’s Safari browser. These users were angered because of the way their online habits were allegedly tracked against their wishes with an aim to offer target advertising.
As Google is based in the US, the company was required to ask for the court’s permission to bring the case in the UK, however, this is something which the search company said that it was inappropriate. A spokesperson for the company said, “A case almost identical to this one was dismissed in its entirety three months ago in the US. We still don’t think that this case meets the standards required in the UK for it to go to trial, and we’ll be appealing today’s ruling.”
The company has vowed to fight the court’s decision. It has been alleged that the information was collected and sold to advertisers who used the company’s DoubleClick advertising service.
Photo Credits: Here is the city
