Google Gets Off Easy in FTC Settlement Over Cookies on Safari (GOOG, AAPL)
The Federal Trade Commission has reached a settlement with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) over a cookie tracking issue. We have received an email confirming the press conference and seen the press release showing that Google will have to pay $22.5 million to…
What is at issue, or what should be at issue, is whether a $22.5 million settlement is enough to matter to a company like Google. Google is approaching an amount of $50 billion in cash, even if the FTC says that this is the largest FTC penalty ever for violation of a Commission Order. The order also requires Google to disable all the tracking cookies it had said it would not place on consumers’ computers.
The event is showing up as a non-event for Google Inc. shareholders as the stock is up 0.2% at $643.71 on thin volume trading. If anyone cares, it is not evident in the shares.
Google’s 52-week range is $480.60 to $670.25 and its current market capitalization is a whopping $210 billion as of now.
JON C. OGG
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Jon Ogg has been a financial news analyst since 1997. Mr. Ogg set up one of the first audio squawk box services for traders called TTN, which he sold in 2003. He has previously worked as a licensed broker to some of the top U.S. and E.U. financial institutions, managed capital, and has raised private capital at the seed and venture stage. He has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as New York and Chicago, and he now lives in Houston, Texas. Jon received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance at University of Houston in 1992. www.247wallst.com.
