Google has agreed to pay at least $5 billion to resolve a consumer privacy lawsuit alleging that it tracked the data of users who thought they were browsing the internet privately in Incognito mode.
On Thursday (December 28), US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, paused the proposed class action trial, which was set to begin in February, after lawyers for Google and consumers informed that they have reached a preliminary settlement.
The terms of the settlement were not revealed, however, lawyers said that they reached an agreement through mediation. By February 24, 2024, the attorneys are also expected to provide a formal agreement to the court for approval.
The $5 billion lawsuit was filed in 2020 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and covered “millions” of Google consumers, claiming damages of $5,000 per user or three times actual damages, depending on what was greater.
As reported earlier, the lawsuit alleged that the company used different systems, including Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager, website plug-ins and other applications, including mobile apps, to track users.
It sought at least $5 billion in compensation from Google and its parent company Alphabet. The US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, had said that Google failed to notify users that the company allegedly collects data while users are browsing in private mode.
It all started in June 2020, when three Google users filed a complaint and claimed that the company carries on a “pervasive data tracking business.” They said that Google collects browsing history and other web activity data even if it has switched on the “incognito” mode.
Other lawsuits have been filed against Google for its search and digital advertising practices. Earlier this month, the technology behemoth agreed to pay $700 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a group of US states accusing Google of stifling competition to its Play Store on Android devices. This comes just days after it lost in a US court dispute by Fortnite creator Epic Games. In 2020, the video game firm sued Google for unfairly favouring its app store over competitors.
