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A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down Google's class-action settlement meant to resolve claims it invaded the privacy of millions of computer users by installing
"cookies" in their browsers, but paying those users nothing for their troubles. In a 3-0 decision, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said it could not tell
whether the $5.5 million settlement was fair, reasonable and adequate, and said a lower court judge should revisit the case. Google, a unit of Alphabet, had been accused of exploiting
loopholes in Apple's Safari and Microsoft's Internet Explorer browsers to help advertisers bypass cookie blockers. The settlement approved in February 2017 by U.S. District Judge
Sue Robinson in Delaware called for Google to stop using cookies for Safari browsers, and pay the $5.5 million mainly to the plaintiffs' lawyers and six groups, including some with
prior Google ties, to research and promote browser privacy. Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during the Google I/O keynote session at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, May
7, 2019. Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images But in Tuesday's decision, Circuit Judge Thomas Ambro said the settlement raised a "red flag" and possible due process concerns
because it broadly released money damages claims. He also called the awards to the privacy groups "particularly concerning." The case was returned to the Delaware court. Lawyers
for Google and the plaintiffs, who both supported the settlement, did not respond to requests for comment. The decision is a victory for Ted Frank, the litigation director at the Hamilton
Lincoln Law Institute and prominent critic of many class-action settlements. Frank said the money awarded to the privacy groups, under a legal doctrine known as _cy pres_, should have gone
to class members like himself. He drew support from a bipartisan group of 13 state attorneys general led by Arizona's Mark Brnovich. _Cy pres_, meaning "as near as possible,"
is sometimes used in settlements covering large numbers of class members who might otherwise stand to receive only tiny amounts. Google has faced this issue before, suffering a setback in
March when the U.S. Supreme Court questioned the legitimacy of a separate $8.5 million privacy settlement involving _cy pres_. Ambro noted that Chief Justice John Roberts has expressed
concerns about _cy pres_, and said many federal courts view cy pres awards with "skepticism" because they could prompt class counsel to put their own interests ahead of their
clients'. Google agreed in 2012 and 2013 to pay $39.5 million to settle federal and state charges that it secretly tracked Safari users' internet use. It did not admit wrongdoing.
The case is In re: _Google Inc Cookie Placement Consumer Privacy Litigation, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 17-1480_.