Google Settles Buzz Privacy Suit

bouldin writes "This evening, Google e-mailed Gmail users who had been invited to Google Buzz to advise of settlement on a class-action privacy suit. The class action suit alleged privacy breaches due to the default privacy settings when Google rolled out the service. Terms of the settlement include $8 million to cover lawyer fees and fund privacy policy education on the Internet, but do not include cash payouts to Gmail users. With several outstanding class action privacy suits against Facebook and Zynga, it is interesting to see Google set this precedent."

Comments

I for one

[ColdWetDog]

welcome our new, eight million dollar richer, lawyer Overlords.

Re:I for one

[N1AK]

Crazy isn't it. I got this same email (as a UK resident it has no relevance to me) and find the whole concept so totally distasteful.

Some lawyers received $2,125,000 for suing Google and getting their clients (all american gmail users) no compensation at all. How can people tolerate the idea that a lawyer is profiteering in their name (if you use Gmail and are American you were included in this settlement). Class action lawsuits like this seem to exist as a way for lawyers to extort companies, it certainly had nothing to do with compensating the people who allegedly had their privacy invaded. I doubt if you asked the people who this lawsuit was in the name of they would have thought settling for $0 compensation, $6.275mil privacy group funding and $2.125mil lawyer bonaza was acceptable. In Fact how on earth is it ok for the lawyers to settle without the agreement of the person the suit is in the name of!?

They automatically notified anyone with an account

[DWMorse]

They sent me an automatic message into my two Gmail accounts.

Which were then, ironically, filtered into the 'Spam' folder automatically. How awesome is that?

Precedent?

[Kirijini]

What precedent? Settling a privacy class action suit by promising to pay millions to fund some kind of privacy foundation, and no payment to individual users?

Facebook did that last year when it settled the class action suit over its "beacon" program.

Re:Precedent?

[jason.sweet]

Yeah. You would think we would at least get some free email, or something.

Re:Precedent?

[EdIII]

Well I hear in Zynga's lawsuit their proposed settlement includes the ChickenHawk (+150 ATK,+150 DEF) for Mafiawars, and 10 free chickens in Farmville.

even if they gave me money

[__aatirs3925]

Even if Google said I could get $50 from the lawsuit I wouldn't accept it. I have no reason to take Google's $50 when it was up to me to learn about my privacy on Google Buzz. Plus, Google has done so much for me in the past that it would be like stealing money from a friend. Cannot do that. Freakin lawyers, bunch of [my attorney has advised me not to complete this sentence].

Re:even if they gave me money

[hawguy]

It shouldn't be up to the user to "learn about my privacy" and how to control it -- it should be incumbent upon the company that holds my personal data to not release it without my explicit consent. Revealing to the world who I chat and email with the most was not a smart move on their part.

If I post something on my Facebook wall, I expect the world to be able to see it - even if I've only allowed my "friends" to see it, I understand that I have no control over the data after my friends see it.

However, if I send a lot of emails to my ex-girlfriend, I don't want my wife to find out about it when she sees my Google Buzz followers.

Re:Important: Read This!

[Anonymous Coward]

you will lose your right to sue Google for privacy violations - forever - with no compensation.

I don't think that's true. AFAIK, You only waive your right to sue Google for claims settled in this particular case. A clarification from a lawyer would be nice.

Re:Official link

[itamblyn]

Follow the link provided in the email and then press "FAQ" on the website. RTFE(Read the fucking email).

So your method of confirming that an email is real is to click on links in said email. Flawless.

Re:Did I miss something?

[jspenguin1]

The point is, if you used GMail, you were signed up for Buzz without any warning - If you never "used" Buzz, you still had a public profile, listing everyone you "follow" - which by default was the people you e-mailed the most.

Re:Lawyers and Consultants keep the cash!

[Anonymous Brave Guy]

What is the value of your privacy? How do you quantify the damage caused by loss of said privacy?

This is the problem with lawsuits that try to reduce everything to dollar amounts. That might be an objective measure in some sense, but the value of the most important things in life is rarely measured in cash, and often compensation for losing them can't be measured in cash either.