The lawsuit said that users were misled in believing that they could control when Google tracked their location when in actuality, they were not able to effectively prevent Google from collecting, storing, and profiting from their data.
said that users were misled in believing that they could control when Google tracked their location when in actuality, they were not able to effectively prevent Google from collecting, storing, and profiting from their data.
“Google denied Washington consumers the ability to choose whether the company could track their sensitive location data, deceived them about their privacy options, and profited from that conduct,” Ferguson said. “Today’s resolution holds one of the most powerful corporations accountable for its unethical and unlawful tactics.”filed in King County Superior Court will also require that Google be more transparent with users when they track their data.
Ferguson notes that when a user turns off Google’s location settings, there is a second setting under “Web & App Activity” left on by default, which still allows Google apps to store location data. That also applies to Android device users who flip a “master switch” designed to disable location tracking for all apps. Google is said to get around that setting by “instead using other information, such as an IP address, to infer the user’s location,” Ferguson’s office describes.
The Attorney General said that the money would be used to further protect digital privacy in the state.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
WA AG Ferguson announces Google to pay near $40 million over deceptive location trackingWA AG Bob Ferguson announced Google will pay $39.9 million to Washington as a result of a lawsuit over misleading location tracking practices.
Read more »
BP Subsidiary Agrees to Record $40M Penalty and Pollution-Cutting Steps at Lake Michigan RefineryThe 134-year-old refinery, located between Hammond, Indiana, and Chicago, is the biggest in the U.S. Midwest and sixth largest nationally. It processes about 440,000 barrels of crude oil daily, making a variety of liquid fuels and asphalt.
Read more »
Supreme Court sidesteps challenge to internet companies’ broad protections from lawsuitsThe Supreme Court has sidestepped a case against Google that might have allowed more lawsuits against social media companies. The justices on Thursday returned to a lower court the case of a family of an American college student who was killed in an Islamic State terrorist attack in Paris. The family wants to sue Google for YouTube videos they said helped attract Islamic State recruits and radicalize them. Google owns YouTube. Google claims immunity from the lawsuit under a 1996 law that generally shields social media company for content posted by others. The outcome is a victory for the tech industry, which predicted havoc on the internet if Google lost. But the high court remains free to take up the issue in a later case.
Read more »
Jodie Sweetin says Bob Saget inspired her to try stand-up comedy“Bob always believed in me. He’d always say, ‘You’re so funny. Your timing’s so great.’ And after he passed … a couple opportunities came up and I started doing it. People were like, ‘Bob would be so proud of you. He would be so proud of you.’”
Read more »
Ciara's Blunt Bob Has So Much Volume, It Defies the Laws of PhysicsThis is the type of hair you'd see in a shampoo commercial.
Read more »