Consumer privacy: Google settles $5 billion lawsuit

Google has recently reached a settlement agreement in a lawsuit that accused the tech giant of covertly monitoring the online activity of millions of internet users who believed that their browsing was private.

The lawsuit claimed that Google used various tools and techniques to bypass browser settings and track user data, including search queries, location, and even personal information.

Filed in 2020, the lawsuit covered “millions” of Google users since June 1, 2016, and sought at least $5,000 in damages per user for violations of federal wire-tapping and California privacy laws.

The case is Brown et al v Google LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-03664.

In a notable development, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, presiding in Oakland, California, has temporarily suspended the scheduled trial set for February 5, 2024, in a proposed class-action lawsuit. This decision comes in the wake of reported preliminary settlements between the legal representatives of Google and the consumer plaintiffs.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, presiding in Oakland, California, temporarily halted the scheduled February 5, 2024, trial in the proposed class action on Thursday. This decision followed the announcement from legal representatives of both Google and consumers, who revealed that they had successfully reached a preliminary settlement.

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The lawsuit had sought at least $5 billion. The lawyers said they have agreed to a binding term sheet through mediation and are expected to present a formal settlement for court approval by Feb. 24, 2024.

The settlement amount and other details of the agreement have not yet been disclosed, but the case highlights the growing concerns around online privacy and the need for stronger regulations to protect users’ digital rights.

The plaintiffs alleged that Google’s analytics, cookies, and apps let the Alphabet unit track their activity even when they set Google’s Chrome browser to “Incognito” mode and other browsers to “private” browsing mode.

They said this turned Google into an “unaccountable trove of information” by letting the company learn about their friends, hobbies, favourite foods, shopping habits, and “potentially embarrassing things” they seek out online.

In August, Rogers rejected Google’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit.

She said it was an open question whether Google had made a legally binding promise not to collect users’ data when they browsed in private mode. The judge cited Google’s privacy policy and other statements by the company that suggested limits on what information it might collect.