Google’s fighting a UK privacy battle in a rather ballsy manner, claiming UK privacy laws don’t cover its operations because all that sort of stuff is handled by its US department. It’s offshore tax shame all over again.
Google’s fighting a group privacy action in the UK over complaints that it tracked iOS users without properly gaining their consent, bypassing some of Apple’s security measures regarding tracking cookies so it could better monitor mobile web use and therefore serve more relevant advertising.
Google’s lawyers are fighting the claim, suggesting UK courts have “no jurisdiction” to rule over this behaviour, as decisions on features like this are taken in its US offices. So what on earth’s going to be happening in the tech giant’s sprawling new London building, then?
Dan Tench, a legal expert at Olswang, said: “Google has a substantial presence here and earns substantial revenues here. This is yet another instance of Google being here when it suits them and not being here when it doesn’t.”