Jury Rules Google Violated User Privacy Despite ‘Off’ Settings
A San Francisco jury ordered Google to pay $425 million this week after finding the tech giant secretly collected data from millions of users—even when they’d turned off tracking in their accounts. The verdict caps a years-long battle over claims Google harvested info via apps like Uber and Instagram between 2012 and 2020. 🕵️♂️
‘Nonpersonal Data’ Defense Fails
Google argued the collected data was anonymized and encrypted, but the jury disagreed, ruling it violated privacy promises tied to its Web & App Activity feature. While users initially sought $31 billion, the court awarded a fraction of that. No punitive damages were granted, as jurors found no "malice" in Google’s actions.
Google Vows Appeal
"This misunderstands how our tools work," said Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda, adding that user controls are respected. Plaintiffs’ lawyer David Boies called the verdict a "major win for privacy." The class action covers 98 million users and 174 million devices. 💻
Not Their First Privacy Storm
Google paid $1.4 billion earlier in 2024 to settle Texas privacy claims and agreed to delete billions of Incognito-mode browsing records in April. Critics say the latest case highlights tech’s "track first, ask later" culture. Will this verdict change the game? 🤔
