Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On May 31, 2011, an Order was filed in the District Court for the Northern District of California granting final approval of the Google Buzz class action settlement and cy pres awards for organizations focused on Internet privacy policy or privacy education. Pursuant to the Order, the court adopted the Google Buzz settlement agreement and certified the proposed settlement class, which includes “all Gmail users in the United States presented with the opportunity to use Google Buzz through the Notice Date.” The court also approved the following list of organizations and award amounts for distribution of the cy pres funds to be paid by Google as part of the settlement agreement:

• American Civil Liberties Union - $7,000,000
• Berkeley Center for Law & Technology - $500,000
• Berkeley Law School, Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic - $200,000
• Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University - $500,000
• Brookings Institution - $165,000
• Carnegie Mellon, Cylab Usability, Privacy & Security Lab - $350,000
• Center for Democracy & Technology - $500,000
• Electronic Frontier Foundation - $1,000,000
• Indiana University, Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research - $300,000
• Stanford, Center for Internet & Society - $500,000
• YMCA of Greater Long Beach - $300,000
• The Electronic Privacy Information Center - $500,000
• The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Santa Clara University - $500,000
• Youth Radio - $50,000