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Google pays to make privacy case go away

by on22 May 2023


Writes $39.9 million cheque

Google will pay Washington State $39.9 million to resolve a lawsuit accusing the Alphabet unit of misleading consumers about its location tracking practices.

State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the settlement resolves claims that Google deceived people into believing they controlled how the search and advertising company collected and used their personal data. In reality, the state said Google was able to collect and profit from that data even if consumers disabled its tracking technology on their smartphones and computers, invading consumers' privacy.

A consent decree filed in King County Superior Court requires Google to be more transparent about its tracking practices and provide a more detailed "Location Technologies" webpage describing them. "Today's resolution holds one of the most powerful corporations accountable for its unethical and unlawful tactics," Ferguson said in a statement.

Google however said that it did nothing wrong.

"In November, Google agreed to pay $391.5 million to resolve similar allegations by 40 U.S. states," notes Reuters. "Some states including Washington chose to sue Google on their own about its tracking practices."

 

Last modified on 22 May 2023
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