FTC approves Google Buzz settlement

The Federal Trade Commission voted 4-0 to give final approval to its settlement with Google over the failed rollout of its Buzz social network last year.

The settlement, which was announced in March, resolves allegations Google "used deceptive tactics and violated its own privacy promises to consumers when it launched its social network, Google Buzz, in 2010." The commission argued Google's practices violated the FTC Act.

As part of the settlement, Google agreed to implement a comprehensive privacy program including submitting to outside privacy audits every two years for the next two decades. The firm also pledged not to misrepresent its privacy practices for any future product rollouts.

Google has been contrite about the incident and has subsequently announced it will retire Buzz in favor of newer social offerings like +1 and Google+. For those products, the firm has placed a greater emphasis on having consumers opt in, and last week hired former Yahoo privacy guru Anne Toth as head of privacy for Google+.

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