Google to Pay $29.5 Million to Settle Lawsuits Over User Location Tracking

Jan 02, 2023Ravie LakshmananPrivacy / Location Tracking

Google has agreed to pay a total of $29.5 million to settle two
different lawsuits brought by Indiana and Washington, D.C., over
its “deceptive” location tracking practices.

The search and advertising giant is required to pay $9.5 million to D.C.^[1]
and $20 million to Indiana^[2]
after the states sued the company for charges that the company
tracked users’ locations without their express consent.

The settlement adds to the $391.5 million^[3]
Google agreed to pay to 40 states over similar allegations last
month. The company is still facing two more location-tracking
lawsuits in Texas^[4]
and Washington^[5].

The lawsuits came in response to revelations in 2018 that the
internet company continued to track users’ whereabouts on Android
and iOS through a setting called Web & App Activity^[6]
despite turning Location History^[7]
options off.

Google was also accused of employing dark patterns^[8], 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.

“Google uses location data collected from Indiana consumers to
build detailed user profiles and target ads, but Google has
deceived and misled users about its practices since at least 2014,”
the state said^[9]
in a statement last week.

Pursuant to the settlement, the company has been ordered to
notify users with Location History and Web & App Activity enabled
about whether location data is being collected, alongside steps
users can take to disable the settings and delete the data.

Google is also expected to maintain a web page that discloses
all the types and sources of location data it gathers as well as
refrain from sharing users’ precise location information with
third-party advertisers without explicit consent.

What’s more, it will need to automatically delete location data
derived from a “device or from IP addresses in Web & App Activity
within 30 days” of obtaining the information.

The Mountain View-based company, in November 2022, noted that
the lawsuits are based on “outdated product policies” and that it
has rolled out a number of privacy and transparency enhancements
that allow users to auto-delete location data tied to their
accounts.

Google further stated it will start providing more “detailed”
information regarding the Web & App Activity control, in addition
to launching an information hub and a new toggle to turn off both
Location History and Web & App Activity settings and delete past
data in “one simple flow.”

“Given the vast level of tracking and surveillance that
technology companies can embed into their widely used products, it
is only fair that consumers be informed of how important user data,
including information about their every move, is gathered, tracked,
and utilized by these companies,” D.C. Attorney General Karl A.
Racine said^[10].