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 The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia on Tuesday
rejected claims in a proposed class action lawsuit that Google
violated federal wiretap and computer fraud laws by exploiting
loopholes in Apple Inc's <AAPL.O> Safari browser and Microsoft
Corp's <MSFT.O> Internet Explorer browser.
Four computer users accused the Mountain View, California-based unit
of Alphabet Inc <GOOGL.O> of bypassing their cookie blockers,
helping advertisers target potential customers.
But in a 60-page decision on behalf of a three-judge panel, Circuit
Judge Julio Fuentes said the plaintiffs did not show they suffered
"damage" or "loss" from the tracking of their computer use.
Fuentes nonetheless said Google's alleged contravention of cookie
blockers it publicly promised to respect could lead a reasonable
jury to find it engaged in "egregious" conduct that violated users'
privacy rights under California law.
Google agreed in 2012 and 2013 to pay a combined $39.5 million to
settle civil charges by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, 37 states
and Washington, D.C. that it tracked Safari users' Internet use
without their knowledge. It did not admit wrongdoing.
Jay Barnes, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, declined to comment. Google
declined to comment.
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Tuesday's decision largely upheld an Oct. 2013 dismissal of the
case, including other state law claims, by U.S. District Judge Sue
Robinson in Wilmington, Delaware.
The case is In re: Google Inc Cookie Placement Consumer Privacy
Litigation, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 13-4300.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)
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