Google has failed to end a $5 billion lawsuit that accuses the search engine giant of invading privacy of millions of consumers through surreptitious tracking of their online activities.
Google’s attempt to get the class-action lawsuit dismissed has been rejected, according to a California court filing. The court remarked that it could not be established that users gave informed consent to Google to collect their personal information.
“The Court is guided by the way that Google itself chose to represent its private browsing mode: Google told users that they could ‘go Incognito’ and ‘browse privately’,” the order states. “By browsing privately, plaintiffs could be said to have asserted their expectation of privacy. Google is welcome to make the counterargument at trial.”
The lawsuit, which could have wide-ranging legal implications for Google, surrounds the tools offered by Google to maintain privacy on its browsing services, mainly the “Incognito” mode on Google Chrome. The case claims Google monitored and tracked users’ online activity even after they switched to the incognito mode.
Not only did Google track users’ internet activities in the incognito mode, it collected information pertaining to their online engagements in “private” mode on other browsers such as Safari, the complaint adds.
The court’s rejection of Google’s bid to have the case aborted is being termed a crucial development towards a potential trial or settlement, which could elevate significant challenges for the company. A lawyer representing the lawsuit called the court’s decision “an important step in protecting the privacy interests of millions of Americans”.
The complaint says Google — through its analytics, cookies, and apps — gathered information about the plaintiffs’ friends, shopping habits, favourite meals, and “potentially embarrassing things” that users looked up online.
The decision also cites Google’s privacy policy and statements submitted in the case regarding the limits on data that can be collected by the company. “Taken as a whole, a triable issue exists as to whether these writings created an enforceable promise that Google would not collect users’ data while they browsed privately,” the judge wrote.
In response to the court’s verdict to uphold the lawsuit, Google rejected the claims made in the complaint and said the company would “vigorously” defend itself.
“Incognito mode in Chrome gives you the choice to browse the internet without your activity being saved to your browser or device,” a Google spokesperson said. “As we clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity during your session.”
The class-action lawsuit was filed in 2020 under California privacy and federal wiretapping laws. It seeks at least $5,000 in damages per user.
The case covers Google users since June 2016.
