DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Google will pay Iowa more than $275,000 as part of a $17 million national settlement over claims that the search engine giant violated consumer privacy. The New York Attorney General’s office said Google Inc. altered coding in 2011 and 2012 to find a way around default privacy settings on Safari without consumers’ knowledge or consent. Such coding allowed the company to gather information about consumers, including online surfing habits.

The company had allowed consumers to opt out of having third-party advertising cookies set on their browsers. Google disabled the coding in February 2012 after the practice was widely reported. Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says the money will go into the state’s consumer education and litigation fund. The settlement involves 37 states and the District of Columbia.