Google has agreed to a $155 million settlement with the state of California in the lawsuit that accused the search engine giant of misleading users regarding its location-tracking settings.
The lawsuit, which raised questions about Google’s business practices, levelled allegations that its parent company, Alphabet Inc., misled consumers about certain settings related to their location. It stated Alphabet deceived users about the level of control they had over their location-tracking settings on Google services and processed their personal data without obtaining informed consent.
The case alleged Google kept tracking the “Location History” of users even after it was turned off on the device, hence misleading them into believing that they were in charge of the relevant settings. The data gathered by Google was then processed to “profile” users and to push advertisements at them, further misleading them about their ability to manage online ads.
California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta has ascribed the allegations to Google’s business interests, which have long been a focus of intense regulatory and corporate scrutiny. “Google was telling its users one thing — that it would no longer track their location once they opted out — but doing the opposite and continuing to track its users’ movements for its own commercial gain,” Bonta said in a statement, adding that Google’s tracking of users’ location without their knowledge is “unacceptable”.
As part of the agreement, Google is required to pay $93 million and provide transparency regarding its location tracking practices and processing of user data. The remaining $62 million in settlement with private complainants will be deposited with court-approved nonprofit organisations that work on online privacy and track violations thereof. The amount will be moved after legal fee is deducted from it, however. The settlements, which require court approval, cover over 247 million adult users across the US who own mobile devices with Google services.
In November last year, Google agreed to a hefty $392 million to settle a similar lawsuit led by the states of Oregon and Nebraska. The case, which too targeted Google’s location tracking practices, involved about 40 states and its settlement remains unprecedented in the US history. It was hailed as a “historic win” for consumers, who were believed to be deceived by Google in similar ways in connection with the company’s location tracking settings.
Arizona was the first state to take Google to court with the allegations that the company continued tracking consumers’ location despite it being disabled on their devices. The case was launched following an investigation by the Associated Press (AP), which revealed Google kept gathering consumers’ location data disregarding its own privacy settings. Google resolved the claims with a settlement agreement worth about $85 million.
