Google Settles Lawsuit by Agreeing to Delete Billions of Personal Data Records from Chrome Users
Charles M. Walls | April 23, 2024 | Views: 198
Google has committed to erasing billions of records that hold personal details gleaned from over 136 million American Chrome users. This move is part of a settlement from a lawsuit that claimed Google was secretly tracking users, even in 'Incognito' mode, which was believed to offer privacy protections against such monitoring. The agreement was revealed in a recent court filing and follows allegations from a June 2020 lawsuit that questioned the privacy assurances of Google’s Chrome browser.
The lawsuit reached a critical point when U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers refused to dismiss the case in August, opening the door to a potential trial. After months of negotiations, the settlement was finalized, with approval pending from a hearing set for July 30 in a federal court in Oakland, California. Under the terms of the settlement, Google will not only delete the contentious data but will also enhance the visibility of privacy disclosures specifically for the Incognito mode.
Despite the seemingly extensive nature of the settlement, it does not provide financial compensation to the consumers involved in the class-action suit—a point Google was quick to highlight. The tech giant described the lawsuit as baseless and stressed that the data to be deleted was never linked to individual users nor used for personalizing ads.
Conversely, lawyers representing the Chrome users have hailed the settlement as a significant win for privacy rights, estimating its value between $4.75 billion and $7.8 billion. This figure is based on the potential advertising revenue that could have been generated from the misused data. Additionally, the settlement does not prevent future lawsuits over similar privacy concerns, allowing individuals to seek damages through state courts.
Investors seem unfazed by the settlement, as Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, saw its shares rise by 3%, pushing the company’s market value to $1.9 trillion. According to Austin Chambers, a data privacy expert at Dorsey & Whitney, the agreement is a crucial step forward. It not only blocks the misuse of private data but also mandates Google to undertake significant measures to eliminate this data, potentially impacting future tech products that rely on such information.
Meanwhile, Google continues to face legal challenges, including a major lawsuit from the U.S. Justice Department alleging that the company misuses its search engine dominance to stifle competition and innovation. A verdict in this case is expected later in the year. Additionally, Google could be forced to make changes to its Play Store after allegations of running an illegal monopoly, with significant financial implications hanging in the balance from upcoming legal examinations.
