Google to Pay Record $22.5 Million to Settle Privacy Charges [REPORT]

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The Federal Trade Commission settlement, which may shape up to be the largest fine in the FTC's history, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which based the story on information from "officials briefed on the settlement terms."

Google was accused of privacy violations by the FTC for using a work-around to track Safari users' web surfing habits even if those users activated a Safari feature designed to prevent tracking. Google stopped the practice after an earlier Wall Street Journal report about the situation.

"The FTC is focused on a 2009 help center page. ... We have now changed that page and taken steps to remove the ad cookies," a Google spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal.

The investigation leading to the settlement was sparked after FTC regulators set off to determine if the Safari tracking violated the company's 20-year agreement to be transparent about its privacy practices.

The FTC has recently come to see itself as something of a privacy watchdog in the digital age. In May, FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said the Commission has protected "the privacy of more than a billion people around the world."