Judge dismisses lawsuit against FTC over Google's privacy policies

Paul Sakuma/AP

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit on Friday that was brought by a privacy group against the Federal Trade Commission over Google's new privacy policies.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center says the search giant's new privacy policy violates a Consent Order with the FTC. The group asked a court to force the FTC to enforce the agreement and block Google from consolidating its data and privacy policies across its various websites and services.

The FTC countered that courts have no authority to tell an agency when or how to enforce such agreements, and a judge with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed.

The "decision to enforce the Consent Order is committed to agency discretion and is not subject to judicial review," Judge Amy Jackson concluded. Jackson did not rule on whether Google's policy violates the agreement, and said the FTC could still choose to make that determination.

EPIC says it will appeal the ruling. Google will brief congressional staff about the changes to its policies on Monday.