In its , which it referred to the U.S. Department of Justice, the FTC said that Google falsely told Safari users that it wouldn't place tracking cookies on their devices or serve them targeted ads.

The FTC said that with this misrepresentation, Google violated an existing privacy settlement it had reached with the agency.

The settlement also requires that Google disable all tracking cookies it placed on affected users' computers.

"The record setting penalty in this matter sends a clear message to all companies under an FTC privacy order," said Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC, in a statement. "No matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place."