Google Ordered to Pay $425M in Major Privacy Breach Case
Google has been ordered to pay $425 million (£316.3 million) in damages after a U.S. federal court ruled that the tech giant violated users’ privacy by collecting data even after they had disabled a key tracking feature.
The class-action lawsuit, first filed in July 2020, accused Google of misleading users about its Web & App Activity setting, which many believed would prevent the company from tracking their online activity. Instead, plaintiffs argued, Google continued to gather and use data from millions of devices without clear consent.
The jury found Google liable on two of three privacy violation claims, though it ruled the company had not acted with malice. The case covers approximately 98 million users and 174 million devices. Plaintiffs had initially sought more than $31 billion in damages.
A Google spokesperson rejected the ruling, telling the BBC:
“This decision misunderstands how our products work, and we will appeal it. Our privacy tools give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalisation, we honour that choice.”
The lawsuit alleged that Google’s data collection extended to hundreds of popular apps, including Uber, Lyft, Amazon, Alibaba, and social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, even when users believed they had opted out of tracking.
Google has maintained that when Web & App Activity is disabled, data collected through services like Google Analytics is anonymised and cannot be linked to individual users.
Part of a Broader Legal Battle
The verdict comes amid a series of legal challenges facing Google. Just days earlier, shares of parent company Alphabet jumped more than 9% after a separate ruling allowed the company to keep its Chrome browser, though it must now share search data with competitors and stop signing exclusive contracts that block rival services.
That case, overseen by District Judge Amit Mehta, focused on Google’s dominance in the search engine market. Meanwhile, another ongoing case, led by District Judge Leonie Brinkema, is examining Google’s monopoly in digital advertising technology, with a trial on remedies set to begin later this month.
With the $425 million penalty and mounting regulatory scrutiny, Google faces increasing pressure to reform its practices as U.S. authorities step up enforcement in the tech sector.
