US Court Not Convinced By Google On Rejecting Privacy Class Suit Claiming Data Collection

US Court Not Convinced By Google On Rejecting Privacy Class Suit Claiming Data Collection

It has paved the way for a jury trial on 18 August

Google has failed to convince the US District Court, Northern District of California to dismiss a privacy class action lawsuit claiming that it collected data from cell phones after people switched off a button to stop the tracking.

Chief Judge Richard Seeborg rejected the arguments of the search engine platform that stated adequately disclosing how its Web & App Activity settings worked, and that users consented to the tracking. The company added that its basic record-keeping “did not hurt anyone."

However, Android and non-Android mobile device users accused Mountain View, California-based Google, a unit of Alphabet, of invading their privacy and violating a California law against unauthorized fraudulent computer access by intercepting and saving their browsing histories without consent.

In a 20-page decision, Judge Seeborg said that reasonable users could view Google's conduct as ‘highly offensive’ because it collected data despite fielding concerns from employees and knowing its disclosures were ambiguous.

Citing internal communications, the judge stated that Google feigned vagueness in distinguishing between data collected inside and outside its accounts because users might find the truth ‘alarming.’

Judge Seeborg added that Google employees might have been suggesting ways to improve the company's products and services. He mentioned, “Whether Google or the plaintiffs' interpretation prevails, is a triable issue.”

However, Google stated, "Privacy controls have been built into our service and the allegations are a deliberate attempt to mischaracterize the way our products work. We will continue to make our case in court against these patently false claims."

While the lawsuit began in July 2020, in August, the Court of Appeals in San Francisco revived a lawsuit accusing Google of tracking Chrome users after they chose not to synchronize their browsers with their Google accounts.

Before that, Google had agreed to destroy billions of data records to settle a lawsuit, accusing it of tracking people who thought they were browsing privately, including on Chrome browsers set to ‘Incognito’ mode.

In that case, law firms representing the plaintiffs valued the settlement at over $5 billion. In the present case, the same firms are representing the plaintiffs.