Google Dole Out $8.5m Over Buzz Lawsuit

Well it seems like Google have finally had to pay the piper over the privacy complaints pertaining to their Buzz social networking service.

When Google started out with their new service there was a lot of – for lack of a better word – ‘buzz’ surrounding it. However it quickly became apparent that Google’s old user privacy habits had not been left behind.

The result…

The Buzz social networking app had several flaws in its setup, meaning that user details we’re left wide open for many people to see and several of the worse effected users took it upon themselves to sue Google over breach of their privacy.

While Google did make several amendments to the service it was apparently not enough as they have now agreed to pay out $8.5 million in a class action lawsuit from the effected users.

Of this $8.5 million sum:

• Approximately 30% went to paying legal fees.
• 7 X $2,500 sums for the effected users.
• The remainder shared among groups and organisations that campaign for online privacy.

While Google issued a statement saying “We’re satisfied with the agreement and are glad to move forward”, what exactly are they moving forward into? Although the payments from the lawsuit haven’t been confirmed yet, it looks certain that they will be pushed through soon and once the flood gates are open they stay open.

Google already spend a great deal of time dealing with legal proceedings, so where are they likely to fold next? Net Neutrality? Anti-competitive behaviour? YouTube quality control or perhaps streetcar privacy violations? I just hope GoogleMe doesn’t kill anyone.

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