Online privacy case against Google

ACCORDING to The Lawyer, law firm Olswang is leading a major online privacy case against Google in the High Court this week, in which the internet giant is arguing for the case to be heard in the US. Three British claimants, represented by Olswang, argue that Google breached the duty of confidence owed to them by secretly gathering data to sell on to advertisers. Bristows is acting for Google. According to the Financial Times (FT) on Monday, Google is able to collect information on myriad areas of users’ personal lives from websites they’ve visited, the way they use the internet and their hobbies to more alarming details such as financial situation and religious and political beliefs. The newspaper also said that the written arguments stated that millions of people in the UK and around the world are likely to have been affected. The current jurisdiction hearing will decide whether the case should be heard in the UK, but the lawsuit itself involves the privacy of millions of internet users.