Alphabet’s Google has been ordered to pay $425 million in damages after a U.S. jury ruled it unlawfully collected user data despite privacy settings being switched off.
The class-action lawsuit, filed in 2020, alleged that Google kept gathering app activity data from millions of users who had disabled the “Web & App Activity” feature. Plaintiffs claimed the company misled people into believing their data was safe.
The jury found Google liable on two of three privacy-related claims but stopped short of ruling it acted with malice. That spared the tech giant from extra punitive damages.
The case covered about 98 million users and 174 million devices. Plaintiffs had originally sought more than $31 billion in damages.
Google, however, disagreed with the ruling. Company spokesperson José Castaneda said: “This decision misunderstands how our products work. Our privacy tools give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalization, we honor that choice.”
Lawyer David Boies, representing the users, praised the jury’s ruling. “We are obviously very pleased with the verdict the jury returned,” he said.
This is not Google’s first privacy dispute. The company recently agreed to pay nearly $1.4 billion in Texas over biometric and location-tracking claims. It also settled another lawsuit by destroying billions of private browsing records tied to its Incognito mode.
The latest case adds to growing pressure on Big Tech over how they handle personal data. Google has already indicated it may appeal the verdict.
Will this landmark ruling push companies like Google to change their data practices, or will fines remain just another business cost?Rate, Like 👍, Comment💬, share this article and Follow us on our social media handles. You can also Submit your own story to get featured and earn rewards!
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