Internet giant Google has agreed to pay a record $391.5 million to settle with 40 U.S. states over allegations it misled consumers about its collection of personal location data. "Google misled its users into thinking they turned off location tracking in their account settings, when in fact, Google continued to collect their location information," Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Monday. There are," says Rosenblum.
A 2018 report from the Associated Press revealed that Google continues to track users' locations on Android and iOS, effectively undermining privacy controls, even when users turn off "location history" in their account settings. Rosenblum said location data collected by Google is combined with other personal and behavioral information to create detailed user profiles for ad targeting purposes, adding that even a limited amount of location data can reveal a person's "identity and routines" and that can be used to infer personal details.
As part of the privacy settlement, Google must show users additional information by enabling or disabling a location-related setting, hiding key information about location tracking, and providing specifics about the types of location data collected. Google, in a related announcement, touted the company's auto-delete options and transparency tools that allow users to access settings like incognito mode on Google Maps and "key location settings right from our core products." It also classified the probe based on "outdated production processes". The search behemoth said it will roll out more solution changes in the coming months to include a streamlined account setup process that provides a detailed description of users' web and app experiences. Provides simplified settings for deleting operations as well as location data. It explained that it will "provide a single, comprehensive information center that highlights key location settings to help people make informed choices about their data."
The development comes three months after the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) fined Google AU$60 million for "misleading consumers about the collection and use of their location data on Android phones between January 2017 and December 2018". The U.S. has settled a separate lawsuit alleging the search giant illegally tracked users by recording location data without their consent. The company agreed to pay $85 million to the state of Arizona. Google is facing similar location-tracking lawsuits in Washington, D.C., Indiana, Texas, and Washington. For the third quarter that ended September 30, 2022, Google reported total revenue of $69.09 billion and a net income of $13.9 billion. Total advertising revenue for the three months was $54.48 billion.
"As long as we have comprehensive privacy laws, companies will continue to compile large amounts of our data for marketing purposes with few controls," Rosenblum pointed out.
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