Google agreed to erase billions of data records to resolve a lawsuit alleging that it secretly tracked the internet use of people who believed they were surfing in a private mode. The terms of the settlement were filed on Monday in federal court in Oakland, California, and must be approved by U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers estimated that the agreement was worth more than $5 billion, possibly $7.8 billion. Although users will not receive damages, they may sue individually for them.
The class action commenced in 2020 and includes millions of Google customers who have used private browsing since June 1, 2016.
Users claimed that Google’s analytics, cookies, and apps enabled it to unlawfully track people who used Google Chrome’s “Incognito” mode and other browsers’ “private” browsing mode.
Google will update disclosures about what it gathers during “private” browsing
They claimed that this transformed Google into an “unaccountable trove of information” by letting it learn about their friends, favorite foods, hobbies, shopping habits, and the “most intimate and potentially embarrassing things” they search for online.
According to the settlement, Google will update disclosures about what it gathers during “private” browsing, a process that has already begun. It will also allow Incognito users to block third-party cookies for five years.
“The result is that Google will collect less data from users’ private browsing sessions and that Google will make less money from the data,” according to the lawyers for the plaintiffs.
Google did not immediately reply to calls for comments.
According to court documents, Google favors final approval of the settlement but disagrees with the plaintiffs’ “legal and factual characterizations.”
David Boies, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, described the deal as “a historic step in requiring honesty and accountability from dominant technology companies.”
In December, a preliminary settlement was reached, with a trial slated for February 5, 2024. The terms were not disclosed at the time. The plaintiffs’ lawyers want to subsequently seek undisclosed legal fees from Google.
