Google ignores small claims privacy lawsuit

PRIVACY CAMPAIGNER Alexander Hanff has had his lawsuit in small claims court against Google over its privacy policy changes ignored by the search firm.

Hanff, who campaigned against Phorm, wants a refund on the handset that he bought and the contract that goes with it. He deserves this, he said, because of the changes that Google made to its privacy policies, which have lead to controversy and opposition from a number of parties.

He expects to win £400 in the case, which he said he will use to fund other people that have problems with the changes.

Hanff told us last week that Google, which had weeks to respond to his claim, had not at that time, and today, in a follow up message, he confirmed that the firm missed the court deadline.

"Google still haven't responded to the claim, if they don't respond by 20th march i can apply for a Default Judgement," he said in the first message. Today, true to his promise, he filed for the default judgment.

In some good news, depending on how you look at it, Nokia is sending Hanff a free Lumia 900 phone. He said that he will start using this, and will use the compensation he expects to get from Google to fund claims for 10 people.

#Nokia are sending me a free #Lumia so I will pledge my compensation from #Google lawsuit to fund claims for 10 more people #Privacy

— Alexander Hanff (@alexanderhanff) March 21, 2012

Filing a complaint in small claims court costs around £40. µ