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Four Attorney Generals Sue Google Over Privacy Claims


The District of Columbia and three states sued Google on Monday, alleging that the tech giant cheated consumers into accessing their location data.

In separate lawsuits, the DC, Texas, Washington and Indiana attorneys general allege that Google misled users of Android phones and tools like Google Maps and its search engine by continuing to track the location information of users who changed the privacy setting to block data. To collect.

Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Karl A. Racine, spearheaded the complaints after a three-year investigation launched after an investigation. Associated Press report It showed the company recording users’ movements even when told not to. He said investigators have found since at least 2014 that Google has made misleading and contradictory claims to consumers about the privacy protections offered through account settings.

The DC lawsuit claimed that even if a user changes the settings on their account or device to stop location tracking, Google continues to collect and store this information through Google services, Wi-Fi data, and marketing partners. The search giant also misled users and pressured them to enable more location tracking, for example, claiming that the products would not work properly if the location services setting was disabled when the app was not actually needed to be used, as the case may be.

“Google has wrongly convinced consumers that changing their account and device settings will allow customers to protect their privacy and control what personal data the company has access to,” Mr Racine said in a statement. “The fact is, contrary to Google’s statements, it continues to systematically spy on customers and profit from customer data.”

Google said the allegations made by attorneys general were false and that the company has made many changes to its privacy policies to help users protect their location data.

“The Attorney General is filing a lawsuit based on false allegations and outdated claims about our settings,” said Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda. “We’ve always added privacy features to our products and provided robust controls for location data. We will defend ourselves fiercely and break the record.”

Google is also battling a Texas-led antitrust lawsuit that states accuse the company of acquiring and abusing a monopoly over systems that allow publishers to auction ad space to marketers. On Friday, Google asked a federal court to dismiss the case.

The lawsuits add to a growing attack by regulators to curtail the power and commercial practices of Silicon Valley giants like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple. State and federal regulators have filed dozens of antitrust, consumer protection, privacy and trade lawsuits in an attempt to curb business models or break up companies. Last week, a Senate committee developed the potentially landmark antitrust law that seeks to undermine the dominance of internet giants.

Attorneys general for DC, Texas, Washington and Indiana said their lawsuits, filed under local consumer protection laws, sought to fine Google and stop its practice of collecting location data for opt-out users. The Attorney General has also participated in other antitrust lawsuits against Google for allegedly harming competition in search and advertising technology.

“Google has prioritized profits over people,” said Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita. “He prioritized financial gains over following the law.”



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