In a decision almost a year in the making, the Third Circuit's recent opinion in In re Google Inc. Cookie Placement Privacy Litig. (3d Cir. Nov. 10, 2015), ("Google"), reversed a trial court order dismissing a lawsuit alleging that Google and other internet advertising companies circumvented cookie-blocking technology in Safari and Internet Explorer web browsers. In doing so, the panel rejected a standing argument advanced by defendants that is identical to an issue currently pending before the Supreme Court. A defense-favorable ruling on that issue by the Supreme Court could require a second look at the question of standing in Google.
In Google, plaintiffs allege that defendants exploited loopholes in the browsers' cookie-blocking features to place cookies on plaintiffs' computers that tracked plaintiffs' web-browsing activities. Defendants then used that tracking information to place targeted advertisements on web pages that plaintiffs visited. Plaintiffs claimed...
