A U.S. judge has rejected Google’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the company violated the privacy rights of millions of people through covert tracking of their internet activities, as reported by Reuters on August 8. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Google’s failure to explicitly inform users that their data would be collected prevented her from concluding they had consented to such tracking. The lawsuit asserts that Google’s tracking persisted even when users employed private browsing modes, accumulating comprehensive information about their interests, social circles, online habits, and potentially embarrassing searches.

In a 36-page decision, Judge Rogers highlighted the plaintiffs’ demonstration of a market value for their data, citing a Google pilot program that paid users for sharing their browsing histories. She also pointed to Google’s statements, including in its privacy policy, suggesting limitations on data collection. Judge Rogers suggested that, taken together, these factors could create an argument that Google had made a binding commitment not to gather users’ data during private browsing sessions. Google contested the claims, asserting that Incognito mode in Chrome provided users the choice to browse without saving activity and that websites could still gather information during these sessions. The lawsuit, spanning Google users since June 1, 2016, seeks a minimum of USD5,000 in damages per user for violations of federal wiretapping and California privacy laws.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-fails-end-5-billion-consumer-privacy-lawsuit-2023-08-08/