Judge Approves Laughably Bad, Collusive Class Action Settlement
A federal judge has approved a settlement involving Google after the company routinely disclosed the search histories of Internet users to third parties in violation of federal law. Under the settlement, Google will continue the practice and the attorneys will receive several million in fees. Google will also distribute millions to the schools the lawyers attended. None of the class members will receive any benefit. A coalition of consumer privacy organizations, including EPIC, twice urged the judge to reject the settlement. The groups cited an opinion by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts about a similarly collusive settlement.