Google settles lawsuit over deceptive location tracking for $93 million

Technology giant Google has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office over allegations of deceptive location tracking practices. The company will pay $93 million, which is roughly Rs 744 crore as part of the settlement.

Background of the Lawsuit

The lawsuit was filed in 2020 after the California Department of Justice conducted an extensive multi-year investigation into Google’s privacy practices. Specifically, the state agency accused Google of deceiving users by collecting, storing and utilizing their location data for advertising purposes without proper consent.

How Google Allegedly Mislead Users

According to the lawsuit, Google misrepresented the extent to which users could limit the company’s location tracking abilities. Google had assured users that turning off the Location History setting would prevent their location data from being tracked.

However, the investigation found that Google continued amassing location information through other means, like the Web & App Activity tracker that was enabled by default. This allowed Google to build detailed user profiles and target them with personalized ads, despite Location History being disabled.

Settlement Terms

As part of the settlement, Google has agreed to be more transparent about how location data is handled. The company will clearly notify users that their location may still be tracked for ad targeting, even with Location History off.

Google has also committed to requiring explicit user consent before using location info for personalized ads. In addition, any significant changes to privacy settings will need approval from Google’s internal privacy review group.

Google’s Response

Google has not admitted any wrongdoing but agreed to settle. José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson, explained that the matter was based on outdated product policies that had already been changed by the company in recent years. However, lawmakers remain skeptical of Google’s privacy commitments.

Increased Scrutiny Over Data Privacy

This settlement comes as Google faces growing scrutiny of its data collection practices. In 2022, Google paid $392 million to settle a similar multistate lawsuit over location tracking.

In addition, the Google remains in the crosshairs of regulators regarding its dominance in online advertising. A landmark antitrust trial against Google opened recently with allegations from the US Department of Justice about stifling competition and operating an illegal monopoly. While Google maintains that it prioritizes user privacy, lawmakers continue to argue that stronger oversight is needed.

Google is not the only tech company facing allegations of using user data without consent. Earlier, Meta (formerly Facebook) was ordered to pay a fine of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) and cease the transfer of data collected from Facebook users in Europe to the United States. This was due to violations of European Union data protection regulations and a failure to provide sufficient data protection against American intelligence agencies.

This settlement demonstrates an ongoing effort to hold tech giants accountable for transparency in data practices.

Please, also have a look into : Google parent Alphabet knocks off hundreds of associates from HR team