British Safari users of Apple have denied Google why, as the company claims, using fraudulent tactics, fools the browser to obtain unauthorized users' data. The Court of Appeal of England and Wales has ruled that the case should be considered further.
"It's a victory for David and Goliath," said Marc Bradshaw, one of the three people who sued Google, according to the BBC.
"The Court of Appeal has proved that Google cannot use its vast resources to evade English justice. Regular computer users like me will now have the right to sue this giant to be held accountable for his unacceptable, immoral and unjust actions. ”
Bradshaw and his friends accuse Google of circumventing Safari's privacy settings to monitor Apple's browser users to serve personalized ads.
Safari can be configured to reject cookies from a webpage unless there is some interaction from the webpage - for example, Safari will accept a login cookie if the user tries to log in to a forum using the username and password login form. of the password.
To bypass this check, Google pretends to have some credential submission form when the browser visits a server running from Google. The hidden code allows Safari to cheat effectively to accept tracking cookies. The use of this technique was discovered by Stanford researchers, and led to calls for a FTC investigation and lawsuits in the US and the UK.
Google unsuccessfully claimed that the UK judicial system had no jurisdiction in this case, and also requested its acquittal since no one was financially injured. On Friday, the court rejected both arguments, and ruled that the case would have to be further examined.
This decision could allow millions of other Apple users who receive invisible Google tracking cookies to start litigation with the company.