Google Violated Apple Users’ Privacy, Stanford Study Finds

Google Inc. violated users’ privacy on Apple Inc.’s Safari Web browser, Stanford University research found, adding to a drumbeat of criticism from consumer groups and lawmakers over how the search giant tracks people online.

Using its DoubleClick ad network, Google has been dodging a privacy setting in Safari, the primary Web browser on the iPhone, iPad and Apple computers, according to a report today by Stanford’s Security Lab and the Center for Internet and Society. The study named three other companies -- Vibrant Media Inc., Media Innovation Group LLC and PointRoll Inc. -- that also evaded privacy settings.