State of California Sues. Google Settles Out of Court
On the tail end of a whole host of security problems, tech behemoth Google has made an agreement to address Location Privacy issues and to fork out $93 million in an out-of-court settlement. The clash arose from a legal suit filed by the U.S. state of California. The complaint articulated that Google’s practices related to location privacy misled consumers, constituting a serious violation of consumer protection laws.
Naughty Google Did a Fib About Keeping Geo Data
Sergey Brin Contemplates What Life Will Be Like Without the $93M. Doesn’t Care.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta offered a sharp critique of the tech giant. He stated their investigation had uncovered a disquieting dichotomy – despite Google asserting to users that to opt out equaled a halt to location tracking, the reality painted a different picture. In practice, Google was continuing its surveillance of user’s movements, leveraging such data for its own commercial advantage.
The digital powerhouse found itself under scrutiny for disclosures that it kept tabs on users’ location, paradoxically, after stating firmly that no such information would be retained if preset at the ‘Location History’ disabling setting.
The case against Google extended its criticism to accusing the company of surreptitiously collecting user’s geo-data through alternative avenues, while giving users a false sense of control over opting out of location-based personalized adverts.
$93M Is a Drop in the Bucket
The incident echoed previous events in Google’s recent history. The corporation, headquartered in Mountain View, California, with its staggering $220 billion revenue from advertising in 2022, has faced a string of legal entanglements brought forth by several U.S. states. Its historical litigation raft includes the $391.5 million settlement in November 2022 involving 40 U.S. states, the $29.5 million settlement with Indiana and Washington, D.C. in January 2023, and a settlement of $39.9 million with the state of Washington in May 2023. Google is currently fending off a similar location-tracking case in Texas.
Google Won’t Admit Wrongdoing, and Won’t Be Transparent
Interestingly, Google, while doling out the various settlements, has not admitted any misconduct. The company shifted the blame to “outdated product policies that we changed years ago.” As part of the settlement, Google has affirmed to implement greater transparency and controls over user location data, hopefully treading a path towards improved accountability.
In an analogous vein, NOYB, an Austrian privacy non-profit, recently took aim at Google-owned Fitbit, accusing the company of coercing new app users into consenting to sensitive data transfers outside the European Union offering potentially lesser data protection standards. The group criticized Fitbit for not providing users with an option to withdraw their consent – short of completely erasing their account.
Together, these transactions underpin the ongoing debates about privacy and the technology industry’s responsibilities to its customers. The hope highlight the importance of companies like Google being transparent and ethical in their use and handling of user data.
