What you should know
- Arizona will be paid $85 million by Google to settle a privacy case.
- In 2020, the company was sued again for allegedly using Android location data to power their advertising engine.
- Google stated that the accusation was based upon outdated policies.
Google has settled a lawsuit in another victory for privacy Filled by Arizona’s attorney-general in 2020The search giant is accused of obtaining location data from Android users in order to create targeted ads.
Bloomberg(opens new tab)According to reports, Google will settle the case for $85 million. Arizona’s Attorney General Mark Brnovich said that the settlement was the largest in Arizona’s state history.
Google’s practice to collect location data from Android users without their consent led to the lawsuit. Brnovich accused Google of using “dark practices,” which are deceptive methods to manipulate user behavior in order to obtain location data.
This manipulative tactic, according to the lawsuit was incorporated into Android phonesand apps, including maps and weather apps. Google’s location tracking was allowed to run in background even when the user turned off location tracking. This is a violation of Arizona’s consumer-protection laws.
Google was also accused for making privacy settings to hide location data difficult to find. For example, menus were hard to find and default tracking settings were sometimes changed without users’ knowledge.
Arizona is joined by the AGs of Indiana and Texas. Google was sued by the respective state courtsThe same offense. The search giant was also Australia fined $40 MillionIt allegedly misled users about how it collected their personal data.
In a statement, Google spokesperson José Castañeda said the case was based on outdated policies that were changed long ago. “We provide straightforward controls and auto delete options for location data, and are always working to minimize the data we collect,” Castañeda said.
This settlement is insignificant compared to other fines imposed elsewhere on the company. Google, for instance, was fined in Europe. fined €4.34 billion in 2018For allegedly holding an unfair monopoly in Android.
