Google must pay 425 million for illegal data collection
Kyiv • UNN
Google must pay $425.7 million to nearly 100 million users for privacy violations. The corporation is considering the possibility of filing an appeal.
Google owes $425.7 million to nearly 100 million users due to a privacy violation. However, the corporation, part of the Alphabet holding company, is considering an appeal.
UNN reports with reference to Reuters and RTS.
Details
Google, a representative of the "big five" business giants, has been found guilty of violating privacy rights because it continued to collect users' private data even after they had disabled this function.
Reference
Approximately 98 million plaintiffs have been recognized by the court. They had previously turned off the "Web & App Activity" setting and another sub-setting for tracking, and they had opted out of data collection regarding their use of Chrome, Google Maps, and Google News services.
Comment from plaintiffs' lawyers and Google representatives
Google's promises and guarantees of confidentiality are outright lies
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda defends the company.
Our privacy tools allow users to control their data, and when they turn off personalization, we respect their choice
"We will appeal," Google announced.
Additionally
Google faced further privacy lawsuits in early 2025. But as part of an accusation that the company violated California state privacy laws, the internet giant paid nearly $1.4 billion.
In April 2024, Google agreed to destroy billions of records of users' private online activity to settle a lawsuit.
Recall
A US federal judge ruled that Google is not obligated to sell Chrome. According to the court's decision, the company, part of Alphabet, must share data with competitors. Exclusive contracts are also prohibited.