Google tries to delete UK court case over iPhone 'tracking'

By  James Titcomb

Google will today attempt to dismiss a case brought by a group of British internet users who allege the search giant collected personal data against their will. 

The company, which has been fined tens of millions of dollars by regulators over the issue in the US, is accused of tracking the habits of iPhone web browsers, even when they had opted out. 

One plaintiff accused Google of “arrogant, immoral” behaviour in trying to get the case shut down in England, and lawyers claim it wants to move the lawsuit to the US. Google says that the plaintiffs suffered no actual harm when they were mistakenly tracked. 

Olswang, the law firm, is bringing the case against Google. It says the company illegally installed internet tracking software, known as cookies, on users’ iPhones during 2011 and 2012. Three test cases will be highlighted tomorrow, but Olswang says hundreds more have expressed their interest after a social media campaign. 

According to the plaintiffs, Google has argued that the claim should be brought in the US, where the company is based. One claimant, Judith Vidal-Hall, said: “Google’s preference that British consumers should travel all the way to California to seek redress for its wrongdoings is arrogant, immoral and a disgrace.” 

A spokesman for Google pointed to a similar US case that was shut down in October. The judge said that users had not come to any harm even if they were tracked. 

“We’re asking the court to re-examine whether this case meets the standards required in the UK for a case like this to go to trial,” the spokesman said. 

Google has been fined a total of $39.5m (£24.2m) by two US regulators, one payment of $22.5m levied by the Federal Trade Commission and a recent $17m payment to US states.