Google is accused in a lawsuit of using its AI-powered Gemini assistant to illegally track users' private messages on Gmail, instant messaging apps, and video conferencing, UNN reports, citing Bloomberg.
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Previously, users of Gmail, Chat, and Meet had the option to enable Google's AI program. But in October, the Alphabet Inc. unit "secretly" enabled Gemini across all these applications, allowing it to collect personal data "without users' knowledge or consent," according to the lawsuit filed late Tuesday in federal court in San Jose, California.
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While the company allows users to disable Gemini, they need to go into Google's privacy settings to deactivate the AI tool, the class-action lawsuit states. If Google fails to take this step, it will use Gemini to "access and use the entire history of its users' private communications, including literally every email sent and received and attachments in their Gmail accounts," the lawsuit says.
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The lawsuit alleges that Google is violating California's Invasion of Privacy Act, enacted in 1967, which prohibits the surreptitious eavesdropping on telephone calls and recording of confidential communications without the consent of all parties involved.
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Google did not respond to a request for comment outside of business hours.
The case is titled "Tele v. Google LLC," 25-cv-09704, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).