A Russian man has filed a lawsuit against search giant Google, accusing it of violating his privacy by showing him advertisements based on comments made in private e-mails.
Anton Burkov, from Yekaterinburg, filed the suit in a Moscow court when advertisements for French hotels and visa services began appearing alongside Google search results — shortly after discussing a trip to Strasbourg with friends.
"I realized that it was not a coincidence, and that [Google] had read my correspondence," Burkov was cited as saying Monday by the RIA Novosti news agency.
A company spokesperson said the Russian branch of Google had been incorrectly identified as a defendant in the case as it is not responsible for the company's Gmail e-mail service.
The suit should therefore have been filed against the U.S-based Google Inc., the representative was cited as saying by RIA.
Burkov, who is representing himself in court, will ask Google to stop promoting advertisements based on private data and is seeking 50,000 rubles ($795) in compensation, the report said.
Google announced in April last year that it was using automated software to scan the content of e-mails on its servers as part of a strategy to tailor online advertisements to users' interests, in a move widely condemned by human rights activists.
