In a landmark decision this week, a San Francisco jury hit Google with a $425 million verdict 🔒💰.
The case, filed in July 2020, accused Google of sneaking into users’ mobile data over eight years—even when they’d turned off the Web & App Activity setting. Millions of devices were affected after Google continued to collect, save and use the data, the plaintiffs argued.
Despite seeking more than $31 billion, the jury found Google liable on two of three privacy claims. Since the court didn’t see malice in Google’s actions, no punitive damages were awarded.
Jose Castaneda, a spokesperson for Alphabet, says the decision “misunderstands how our products work” and that their privacy tools “give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalization, we honor that choice.” David Boies, representing the users, said they’re “very pleased with the verdict.”
Judge Richard Seeborg certified the class action to cover about 98 million users and 174 million devices. Google plans to appeal the verdict.
This isn’t Google’s first privacy drama. Earlier this year, the company paid $1.4 billion in Texas to settle another suit. In April 2024, Google agreed to destroy billions of records after allegations it tracked “Incognito” browsing sessions 📱🔍.
As data privacy becomes a hot-button issue, this case sends a clear message: even tech giants must honor users’ privacy settings. 🙌
Reference(s):
Google must pay $425 million in class action over privacy, jury says
cgtn.com
