Google will pay $8.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought against the company after its launch of Google Buzz. Google's attempt at challenging Twitter and Facebook in the social networking realm was greeted with a backlash from users upon its launch in February due to privacy concerns, as Google automatically shared personal data without the consent of Gmail users. Eva Hibnick filed the suit against Google a week after the service launched. While Google Buzz might have intrigued many as an outreach for marketing purposes, many people were hesitant and even resistant to adopt Google Buzz. Google contacted its Gmail service users today with the following information about the settlement:
Google rarely contacts Gmail users via email, but we are making an exception to let you know that we've reached a settlement in a lawsuit regarding Google Buzz, a service we launched within Gmail in February of this year.
Shortly after its launch, we heard from a number of people who were concerned about privacy. In addition, we were sued by a group of Buzz users and recently reached a settlement in this case. The settlement acknowledges that we quickly changed the service to address users' concerns. In addition, Google has committed $8.5 million to an independent fund, most of which will support organizations promoting privacy education and policy on the web. We will also do more to educate people about privacy controls specific to Buzz. The more people know about privacy online, the better their online experience will be.
Just to be clear, this is not a settlement in which people who use Gmail can file to receive compensation. Everyone in the U.S. who uses Gmail is included in the settlement, unless you personally decide to opt out before December 6, 2010. The Court will consider final approval of the agreement on January 31, 2011. This email is a summary of the settlement, and more detailed information and instructions approved by the court, including instructions about how to opt out, object, or comment, are available at BuzzClassAction.com
This article is taken from- http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/101102-231510
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