Google To Pay Million Of Dollars For Settlement of Two Lawsuits Over Location Tracking
The search and advertising giant, Google will have to pay $9.5 million to D.C. and $20 million to Indiana after the states sued it for charges that the company tracked users’ locations without their express consent. Furthermore, the settlement now sums up to the $391.5 million the company agreed to pay to 40 states over similar allegations last month. Let me tell you that Google is still facing two more location-tracking lawsuits in Texas and Washington. The lawsuits are related to revelations in 2018 that Google continued to track users’ whereabouts on Android and iOS through a setting. Let me tell you that there is a Google setting called Web & App Activity on Android and iOS. Despite turning the Location History options off, it allows tracking users’ locations. Google was also accused of employing dark patterns, which refer to design choices intended to deceive users into carrying out actions that violate their privacy and overshare information without their knowledge or affirmation. The state said in a statement last week: Regarding this matter, the company has been ordered to notify its users with Location History and Web & App Activity. Furthermore, the company needs to tell its users whether location data is being collected, together with the steps users can take to disable the settings and delete the data. The search giant is also expected to maintain a web page in order to disclose all the types and sources of location data it gathers. Moreover, the company needs to refrain from sharing users’ precise location information with third-party advertisers without explicit consent. The point worth mentioning here is that it will need to automatically delete location data derived from a “device or from IP addresses in Web & App Activity within 30 days” after getting information. D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine said: Back in November 2022, Google elaborated that these lawsuits are based on “outdated product policies” and it has now rolled out a number of privacy and transparency enhancements in order to allow users to auto-delete location data associated with their accounts. Also Read: A New Gray YouTube Progress Bar Is Rolling Out To Users – PhoneWorld
