SAN FRANCISCO — Google is paying $17 million to 37 states and the District of Columbia to make amends for the Internet search leader’s snooping on millions of people using Safari Web browsers in 2011 and 2012.

The settlement stems from a technological loophole that enabled Google’s DoubleClick advertising network to shadow unwitting Safari users, even though the browser’s maker, Apple, prohibited the tracking. DoubleClick could then gain more insights about what types of ads were most likely to appeal to different Safari users.