(CNN) — Google has agreed to a record $391.5 million settlement with 40 states for allegedly misleading consumers over its location tracking practices, a coalition of attorneys general announced Monday.
The attorneys general described it as the largest multi-state privacy settlement in US history.
The coalition, which included attorneys general from New York, Kentucky and Oregon, claimed Google had been misleading users about locating tracking in various ways since 2014. That included confusion around “the scope of the Location History setting” and “the extent to which consumers who use Google products and services could limit Google’s location tracking by adjusting their account and device settings,” according to a release from the office of Pennsylvania attorney general and governor-elect Josh Shapiro.
As part of the settlement, Google is required to be more transparent, including showing additional information whenever a location-related setting is turned on or off, making key location tracking policies clearly visible and giving users more details on the type of location data being collected and its use. Google will also now face limits on its usage and storage of some location information.
“Consistent with improvements we’ve made in recent years, we have settled this investigation which was based on outdated product policies that we changed years ago,” Google spokesperson José Castañeda told CNN Business.
The attorneys general opened an investigation into Google after a 2018 Associated Press report that the company “records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to.” In a statement at the time, Google said it provides “clear descriptions of these tools, and robust controls so people can turn them on or off, and delete their histories at any time.”
The search engine faced a similar suit in January when four attorneys general from the District of Columbia, Texas, Indiana and Washington state claimed it had used “dark patterns” and deceptive practices to track users’ physical location even when those users have made efforts to block Google from doing so.
Location data like the kind collected by Google can be used to target advertising and build profiles on internet users. Google and other large tech companies have come under renewed scrutiny for their handling of location data in the wake of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. After facing pressure from lawmakers over how such data could be used to track abortion seekers, Google said it would start deleting user location history for visits to abortion clinics and fertility clinics, among other destinations.
The post Google agrees to $392 million settlement with Idaho and 39 other states over location tracking practices appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com
Google agrees to $392 million settlement with Idaho and 39 other states over location tracking practices
More from IdahoMore posts in Idaho »
- Local ballroom dance team makes history at national championship
- Idaho lawmakers just killed University of Phoenix purchase proposal. Will that doom it?
- Biden administration restores threatened species protections dropped by Trump
- Idaho lawmakers clash on lack of reproductive rights legislation as session nears end
- Man who killed entire Kellogg family sentenced to life without parole
More from NationalMore posts in National »
- Convicted sex offender who hacked jumbotron at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium gets 220 years
- Regular exercise is associated with less insomnia, study shows
- Police had about 90 seconds to stop traffic before Baltimore bridge fell. 6 workers are feared dead
- Teen wearing underwear on face arrested after trying to steal car in Washington state
- Pope Francis skips homily at Palm Sunday Mass in rare move
Be First to Comment