State Attorneys General Maintain Sharp Focus On Privacy

Though the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Presidential Initiative " Privacy in a Digital Age" expired in June 2013 when a new NAAG president took over, the state attorneys general have maintained their sharp focus on all things privacy, with no signs that that focus will shift anytime soon. Most recent case in point: a $17 million settlement with Google related to Google's use of tracking cookies on Safari browsers. 

On November 18, 37 states and the District of Columbia announced the settlement with Google, which resolves an investigation that began in February 2012. Default settings on Apple's Safari browser do not allow for tracking across different websites.  The investigation centered on whether Google tricked the browser into allowing such tracking, ostensibly in contradiction to the user's choice not to be tracked. Google faced similar scrutiny from the FTC, which entered into a $22.5 million settlement with the search engine giant late