Google recently settled charges by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that Google’s social networking service, Buzz, violated the FTC Act. The FTC-Google settlement prohibits Google from misrepresenting the extent to which it maintains and protects the confidentiality of users’ information and from misrepresenting its compliance with the US-EU Safe Harbor Framework. In that regard, the settlement represents two important “firsts” in FTC enforcement:
- The first time a comprehensive privacy program (as opposed to a comprehensive security program) was required by an FTC consent decree.
- The first time the FTC has enforced the US-EU Safe Harbor Principles for substantive non-compliance.