Google Buzz Settlement Reached

Yesterday, Google announced that a federal district court judge approved a settlement for a lawsuit filed against them by Gmail users.

Google launched Google Buzz, a tool used for social networking and messaging in association with Gmail. However, Gmail users were upset because they were automatically signed up for Buzz. Without any consent, Gmail users had their data and frequent contacts displayed. Subsequently, users took Google to court, citing privacy violations.

District courts have approved a settlement, which requires that Google pay $8.5 million to organizations that provide education on Internet privacy and policies. Additionally, Google has made changes to its Buzz service and is educating its users on its privacy settings.

Yesterday, all Gmail users in the United States received an e-mail that clarified the nature of the settlement. Gmail users will not receive any monetary compensation for the lawsuit. In the email, Google stated, "Just to be clear, this is not a settlement in which people who use Gmail can file to receive compensation".

In a statement released today, Google announced, "We are satisfied with the agreement and are glad to move forward, We have always been committed to offering users transparency and choice in Buzz and all our products, and will continue to work together with users to provide the best experience possible."

Although the payout for the settlement is a large figure deal, it is clear that Google will not have a problem paying the $8.5 million. As previously mentioned on The TNS Group tech blog, Google will make an estimated $15 billion this year in advertising, and is continuing to grow and improve annually.