Shaking Up the Settlement Process: FTC Reconsiders Whether Companies Can Deny Wrongdoing While Settling Privacy Violation Claims

The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") recently announced settlements of cases brought against Google and Facebook for alleged privacy violations. The Google settlement drew headlines for being the largest fine ever assessed for the violation of a FTC consent order ($22.5 million).  But Commissioner J. Thomas Rosch's dissents are perhaps more momentous, as they have prompted the FTC to re-examine its practice of accepting settlements in which companies deny wrongdoing.

The FTC's complaint against Google alleged that the Internet services company circumvented the privacy controls in Apple's Safari Internet browser. The FTC claimed that despite telling Safari users that they did not need to change the browser's default privacy settings, Google exploited an exception in Safari's cookie-blocking software to allow advertising tracking cookies. This, the FTC alleged, violated a previous settlement agreement that prohibited Google from, among other things, misrepresenting the