Google is reportedly negotiating with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to determine the fine it will pay for bypassing the privacy settings on Apple’s Safari web browser. That’s according to a Bloomberg report that cites a “person familiar with the matter.”

Bloomberg’s source says that Google could face a fine of “tens of millions of dollars.”

Back in February, the Wall Street Journal revealed how Google was getting around Safari’s privacy settings so that it could make its +1 buttons work on advertisements in Safari. In doing so, the company may have violated the terms of its Google Buzz privacy settlement, in which Google promised not to misrepresent its privacy practices to consumers. Because the FTC is investigating the “Cookiegate” incident as part of the Buzz agreement (as opposed to an entirely new case), the agency is able to act much more quickly than it normally does during individual investigations.

Neither the FTC nor Google commented for Bloomberg. We’ve also reached out to Google for more information and we’ll update this post if we get a reply.

Postscript: A Google spokesperson tells us that the company has no comment on the Bloomberg report, but added “We will, of course, cooperate with any officials who have questions.”

Related Topics: Apple: Safari | Channel: Content Marketing | Google: Legal | Google: Privacy | Legal: Privacy | Top News

About The Author: Matt McGee is Editor-In-Chief of Marketing Land. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the US. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. You can read Matt's disclosures on his personal blog. See more articles by Matt McGee

Connect with the author via: Email | Twitter | Google+ | LinkedIn