Google claims that UK privacy laws don’t apply to them as they’re faced with a landmark legal case

Internet search giant Google is using an unusual defence against claims that it illegally tracked internet activity, arguing that the British laws they are alleged to have broken do not apply to them.
The UK-based claimants say that Google bypassed a privacy setting on their iPhones and Apple Mac computers in order to illegally track their activity on the internet and are currently trying to bring a landmark group legal case against the company.

Apple’s default privacy settings mean that websites are blocked from installing things like cookies that let companies like Google track the user’s internet usage and target adverts towards them personally. It’s alleged that Google wrote software that was specifically designed to work around these settings without notifying the users beforehand.

Google maintains that it didn’t use these cookies to harvest personal information, but the Federal Trade Commission has already imposed a record $22.5 million fine on them. The company is now battling hard to have the case dismissed from UK courts in order to have it heard abroad, asserting that it is not subject to British laws because its consumer service, Google Inc., is based in Silicon Valley, California.

The claim has sparked outrage among many campaigners as it comes on the heels of the news that Google had failed to pay a significant amount of tax in the UK, prompting some to claim that the company operate in the country only when it suits them.

Google’s attempt to have their case heard elsewhere will be considered in October, but given the fact that the offences were committed under a ‘.co.uk’ web address - and that the firm is currently constructing headquarters worth $1 billion in the UK - it’s not looking promising for the search giant.
If you’re worried about the safety of the personal information you have on your computer, then a VPN service can offer you some extra piece of mind. A VPN provides your computer with an extra level of security when you’re surfing the internet so that your personal data stays private.