Supreme Court to hear Google privacy settlement case

A settlement reached with Google set to award $8.5 million money to privacy rights groups, universities and other organizations – instead of victims of privacy violations by the company – will go before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The appeal by conservative think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute stems from a 2013 case in which Google was found to have violated users' privacy rights by sharing their search queries with other websites. The $8.5 million settlement was earmarked for third parties – an arrangement that is growing more common, according to a Reuters report.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approved the terms, saying that monies distributed to Google's 129 million users under a more traditional settlement would amount to “a paltry 4 cents in recovery.”