The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Tuesday struck down Google’s $5.5. million settlement over its invasion of privacy of millions of users.
Google settled $5.5 million for installing cookies in browsers and not paying users for their information. The company was accused of exploiting loopholes in the Internet Explorer and Apple Safari browsers to bypass cookie blockers. In a 3-0 decision, the appeals court decided to let a lower court revisit the case. The judges expressed concern over due process and whether the settlement amount was adequate and in the best interest of impacted parties. Under the current settlement, many privacy groups would be paid out instead of class members.
The judges ultimately decided that the lower court’s fact finding was inadequate for the appeals court to made a fair ruling and therefore vacate the settlement decision.