Internet search services provider Google, Inc., US, has reportedly agreed to pay $ 8.5 million to settle a legal dispute with several users of Google's web-based email service Gmail. Gmail users claimed that Google Buzz, a social-networking app found within Gmail, violated their personal privacy.
Legal paperwork, recently made available online, detailed the proposed settlement, which awaits approval by the federal court judge in San Francisco presiding over the case. According to court documents, legal representatives that filed the class-action suit staked out 30 percent of the settlement money and the seven named plaintiffs were to get no more than 2,500 dollars each. The rest of the money, which Google is to deposit in a fund, was earmarked for organisations devoted to Internet privacy policy or education. The settlement also called on Google to do more to educate people about privacy at Buzz.
Google Buzz social network was in troubled waters after the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Google's failure to protect users' personal data, in February this year. Google quickly worked and fixed the issue while the service continued to receive lukewarm response from Gmail users. A number of changes have been implemented in the service since then. The court filing came as Google updated its privacy policy.
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