LONDON – Britain’s High Court has rejected a bid by Google Inc. to stop a group of Internet users suing it for breach of privacy.
Several users of the Apple Safari Internet browser claim Google bypassed security settings in order to track their online activity and target them with personalized advertisements.
Lawyers for Google argued that the case should be heard in California, where Google is based.
But High Court judge Michael Tugendhat said Thursday that “this jurisdiction is the appropriate one.”
One of the claimants, Judith Vidal-Hall, said she was delighted that Google would have to explain “what they’ve done with our private data, how much they have made from this, and why they keep flouting privacy laws.”
Google said it would seek Court of Appeal permission to challenge the ruling.
Associated Press/AP Online