Class Action Says Google, Alphabet Track and Collect User Data ‘No Matter What Safeguards’ Are In Place [UPDATE]
Last Updated on April 15, 2024
Brown et al. v. Google LLC et al.
Filed: June 2, 2020 ◆§ 5:20-cv-03664
Google and Alphabet face a class action that alleges internet users are effectively powerless against the companies' data collection and tracking practices.
April 15, 2024 – Google Data Tracking Lawsuit Settlement Awaits Judge’s Approval
As part of the nonmonetary settlement reached in the proposed class action lawsuit detailed on this page on the eve of trial, Google has agreed to adjust its representations to users about how it collects and utilizes their data, and delete and remediate intercepted information.
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The proposed settlement, if approved by the court, will cover any Chrome, Safari, Edge or Internet Explorer browser users with a Google account who accessed a non-Google website containing Google tracking or advertising code using the browser and who were in “Incognito mode” or a “private browsing mode” and were not logged into their Google account on that browser, but whose communications—including identifying data and online browsing history—were collected by Google at any time since June 1, 2016.
The plaintiffs’ unopposed motion for final approval, which was filed on April 1, 2024 and detailed the terms of the deal, called the class action settlement a “groundbreaking” agreement that “ensures real accountability and transparency from the world’s largest data collector and marks an important step toward improving and upholding our right to privacy on the Internet.”
The 32-page motion relays that, as part of the proposed deal, Google has agreed to rewrite its disclosures to explicitly inform users of its data collection practices in its Privacy Policy and on the Incognito “splash screen” that automatically appears at the beginning of each browsing session.
If the settlement is approved, Google will also delete or remediate “billions of data records that reflect class members’ private browsing activities,” the motion says. In addition, Google, for the next five years, must allow Incognito users to block third-party cookies by default, the document shares.
“This change is important given Google has used third-party cookies to track users in Incognito mode on non-Google websites,” the motion states. “This requirement ensures additional privacy for Incognito users going forward, while limiting the amount of data Google collects from them.”
Moreover, Google must also delete certain data points, called detection bits, that track whether a consumer is choosing to browse privately, the motion adds.
The document points out that if the settlement is approved, class members will retain their rights to sue Google individually for damages. According to the settlement agreement, no additional notice of the deal will be provided to class members beyond the notification of Google’s disclosure changes.
The parties now await final approval of the settlement terms from United States District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, following a hearing set for July 30, 2024.
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January 5, 2024 – Settlement Reached in Google Data Tracking Lawsuit
Google has agreed to settle the proposed class action detailed on this page.
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According to a joint notice filed on December 26, 2023, Google and the plaintiffs have agreed to a binding term sheet that, if approved by the court, would resolve the claims in this litigation. The notice states that the parties are preparing a preliminary settlement agreement, which they plan to submit for court approval within 60 days, or by February 24.
On December 28, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted the parties’ request to vacate the trial date and pause the litigation for 60 days, pending their submission of a preliminary settlement agreement.
ClassAction.org will update this page when more settlement details are available, so be sure to check back often.
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Google tracks and collects data on consumer browsing habits and other internet activity “no matter what safeguards” are employed to protect against prying eyes, a proposed class action alleges.
Filed against Google LLC and parent company Alphabet Inc., the sweeping 37-page case says the search giant purports that consumers are in control of what information they share with the company. Further, Google represents that privacy settings can be used across its services to govern what information is collected and how it’s used, the suit adds.
The complaint alleges, however, that “[n]othing could be further from the truth."
In reality, not even “private browsing mode”—including Google’s “incognito mode”—keeps user data out of the hands of Google and Alphabet, the suit says. According to the lawsuit, Google utilizes its Analytics, Ad Manager and an assortment of other apps and website plug-ins to surreptitiously track nearly every move a user makes online, including webpages visited and apps opened. More specifically, Google collects detailed personal information that includes users’ IP addresses (which can provide geographic information), what a user is viewing, what the individual last viewed, and specifics about the user’s device, the case alleges.
As the lawsuit tells it, Google vacuums up user data regardless of whether an individual clicks on a Google-supported ad or even knows it exists. The totality of Google and Alphabet’s data collection and surveillance amounts essentially to a real-time report on the internet behavior of millions of people run billions of times per day, the suit asserts.
Though Google has advised that consumers can browse the web privately and stay in control of the information they share with the company, in particular through the use of private browsing mode in any major web browser, the defendant’s assurances are untrue, the complaint continues, as neither step can prevent Google from tracking, collecting and identifying browsing data in real time.
Moreover, Google’s data collection, tracking and storage practices open the door for potential misuse by third parties with varying intentions, the complaint says. From the lawsuit:
“Google’s practices infringe upon users’ privacy; intentionally deceive consumers; give Google and its employees power to learn intimate details about individuals’ lives, interests, and internet usage; and make Google ’one stop shopping’ for any government, private, or criminal actor who wants to undermine individuals’ privacy, security, or freedom.”
Through its ubiquitous data collection, Google “knows who your friends are, what your hobbies are, what you like to eat, what movies you watch, where and when you like to shop, what your favorite vacation destinations are, what your favorite color is, and even the most intimate and potentially embarrassing things you browse on the internet,” the lawsuit goes on. In all, the defendants have made themselves unaccountable for the trove of information they’ve acquired, a cache so detailed and expansive that “George Orwell could never have dreamed it,” according to the suit.
Relaying that federal and state privacy laws prohibit the unauthorized interception of confidential communications, the lawsuit alleges violations of the federal Wiretap Act, California Invasion of Privacy Act and invasions of privacy and intrusion upon seclusion. The latest in a long lineage of proposed class actions against Google over its data collection and user privacy practices, the lawsuit comes on the heels of a case brought on May 27 over claims that Google and Alphabet wield monopolistic control over the online advertising industry.
The suit looks to represent those whose internet use was tracked by Google between June 1, 2016 and the present while browsing in “private browsing mode” and who did not log into their Google account on a device’s web browser during that session.
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