Google was ordered to pay $425 million for illegally collecting user data
A U.S. federal jury ruled that Google must pay $425 million in damages to the plaintiffs for illegally collecting user data. The case involves Google continuing to collect data after users turned off tracking features, violating privacy rights. Google plans to appeal the ruling, stating that its privacy tools respect user choices. The jury found Google liable for two counts of privacy infringement but did not determine that it acted with malice, so no punitive damages are required. This class action lawsuit involves approximately 98 million users
According to reports, a federal jury ruled on Wednesday that Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet (GOOGL.US), must pay $425 million for continuing to collect data from millions of users who had closed their Google account tracking features, thereby violating users' privacy rights.
The ruling came after a trial in the federal court in San Francisco. The trial involved allegations that Google accessed users' mobile devices for eight years to collect, store, and use their data, violating privacy assurances under its "Web & App Activity" settings.
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda stated in an email that the company plans to appeal. Castaneda said, "This decision misunderstands how our products work, and we will appeal it. Our privacy tools allow users to control their data, and when users turn off personalization settings, we respect that choice."
The jury found Google liable for two of the three privacy infringement claims brought by the plaintiffs. Additionally, the report noted that the jury determined Google did not act with malice, so no punitive damages were warranted. These users had previously sought over $31 billion in damages.
The class action lawsuit was filed in July 2020, and reports indicated that even when users had turned off the relevant settings, Google continued to collect user data by maintaining connections with applications using certain Google Analytics services, such as Uber, Venmo, and Meta's Instagram.
During the trial, Google stated that the data collected "is non-personal, anonymous, and stored in independent, secure, and encrypted locations." The report also indicated that Google claimed this data was unrelated to users' Google accounts or any individual user's identity.
The report further stated that U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg had approved the case as a class action, involving approximately 98 million Google users and 174 million devices
