Imagine your data - presumed to be anonymous - being collected without your knowing.
Like other companies, Google has encountered trust issues in its history, much like Facebook and TikTok.
One notable case involved a legal battle in 2020 against Fortnite creators, Epic Games that Google later lost.
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Following an ongoing legal dispute, Google has now agreed to pay $5 billion over its alleged online privacy invasion.
The lawsuit comes from Google violating the privacy terms of its users. The Alphabet-owned company was accused of tracking users' browsing activity on its Google Chrome browser even when in 'incognito mode'.
If you're unfamiliar with incognito mode, it's a private browsing mode that erases activity data from any website for the user.
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Meaning, any website that you're on doesn't store information about the current session, including cookies.
It was thought that the websites were still able to track usage and analytics without any identification of the user.
The lawsuit revealed Google Ads Manager and Analytics to be gathering personal data on users including social circles, interests, and shopping habits - even 'potentially embarrassing things.'
This data was merged without users' knowledge with their existing profiles.
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The prosecuting case claimed that this enabled Google to become an 'unaccountable trove of information.'
All the while, users were unaware of this as Google never disclosed that information would be collected in private browsing and hints almost the opposite, the court found.
Google denied any wrongdoing, defending that the company had been transparent about data collection in incognito mode.
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According to a BBC report, the company argued that this transparency allowed website operators to 'better evaluate the performance of their content, products, marketing, and more.'
The lawsuit was filed back in 2020 and involved 'millions' of Google users since June 2016. At least $5,000 has been sought in damage per user for violations of California privacy laws and federal wire-tapping.
Reportedly, lawyers announced last Thursday that both parties have reaching a binding agreement through mediation, leading U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to postpone the scheduled trial with a final review pending.
Although the full terms of the agreement weren’t publicly disclosed, they're expected to become available around late February 2024 - the same time the lawyers are expected to present a 'formal settlement for court approval.'
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Back in August this year, Google's request to have the case dismissed was denied with the judge at the time stating: 'Google’s motion hinges on the idea that plaintiffs consented to Google collecting their data while they were browsing in private mode.
'Because Google never explicitly told users that it does so, the Court cannot find as a matter of law that users explicitly consented to the at-issue data collection.'