In a flurry of controversy, talks of privacy invasion began after a series of articles surfaced concerning allegations that internet giant Google, Inc. has been side-stepping both FTC standards and Apple, Inc.’s privacy policy in order to track users’ activities.

A Stanford University privacy research expert announced this week that Google (as well as “several other advertisers”) have been circumventing privacy features in Apple’s standard Internet browser Safari. Despite Safari’s designed impenetrability to tracking devices like cookies and others, Google has apparently managed to find a way to place them on Apple devices even when users have not visited Google sites.

The FTC is investigating the matter to determine whether or not these developments constitute a breach of the recently established settlement terms put in place back in October of 2011. These conditions were allegedly enacted to bar Google from future privacy infringements, and additionally required the company to put in place a more comprehensive privacy policy.

Meanwhile, in a related instance, the L.A. Times reported this week that social networking website Twitter has admitted that it has been collecting all of the phone numbers and contact information in iPhones and Android phones of users who have utilized its “Find Friends” application. Naturally, as users were unaware of this invasive process of data collection, many are in an outrage.

But Twitter is hardly alone. After it was revealed that iPod application Path had been collecting the contact information stored in the device upon which the app had been installed, the company was forced to issue an apology (hardly an adequate retribution for such a tremendous infringement of privacy). Perhaps seeking to avoid such a negative wave of backlash, other companies, including FourSquare, Instagram, and Foodspotting have announced that they (like Twitter) will update their services in the very near future to make the information collection process more clear to users of the websites. It is unconfirmed at this time whether or not Facebook has engaged in this practice.

Although privacy advocates and lawmakers (many of whom are investigating more deeply into the matter) have been outraged by these developments, as of yet no charges have been filed.

To read more about the Google privacy scandal, click here or here.

For more on the social networking scandals, click here.