Users had turned off geolocation on their devices because they didn’t want to be tracked, but Google knew their location anyway.
Now the US company has reached an agreement with the authorities of dozens of US states to pay US$391.5 million to settle a controversy over the way it collects data from its users.
It is the largest agreement reached with several states related to privacy issues in US history.
The technology giant was singled out by the attorneys general of 40 states in the country who accused it of continuing to track users who had disabled geolocation services on their devices.
an official of Google said the investigation was based on “outdated product policies” that they changed years ago and indicated that the agreement they reached to close it was “consistent” with the improvements that the company had made in recent years.
Last month, Google agreed to pay Arizona $85 million for similar issues related to the way it collects location data from users.
It now has one case pending on the issue in US courts, after Texas, Indiana, Washington and the District of Columbia launched legal action against the company in January.
“Misleading consumers”
Knowing a user’s location helps advertisers target campaigns to promote their products.
And location services help Google generate $200 billion in annual advertising revenue.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who led the case, along with Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, said: “For years, Google has prioritized profit over the privacy of its users. He has been cunning and deceitful.”
“Consumers thought they had turned off their location tracking features on Google, but the company continued to secretly record their movements and using that information for advertisers,” he added.
Attorneys general said Google had been misleading consumers since at least 2014, violating state consumer protection laws.
In addition, they instructed the company to significantly improve user controls and the way it discloses location tracking starting in 2023. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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