Google Has Faced A Number Of Privacy lawsuits

Alphabet Inc.'s Google has been victorious in a privacy lawsuit filed by consumers who accused the company of snooping on them even after they opted out of sharing their web activity. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed the claims that Google tracked users' personal information, including IP addresses and browsing history if they chose not to “Sync” their Google accounts with Chrome.  The judge also ruled on another Chrome privacy case involving the “Incognito Mode” feature that lets people surf the web privately. Google informed users of the data it collects when users opt out of syncing their Google accounts with Chrome. It also disclosed the data it collects when users choose to use the Incognito Mode. The judge ruled that Google adequately disclosed the collection of data and that users had consented to it.  The ruling also allowed tens of millions of Google users to join the suit launched by a handful of consumers. However, the users are not allowed to seek monetary compensation, but only relief that would block the company from further collecting private browsing information and push it to delete previously gathered data. The privacy lawsuit was filed in October 2019, and the plaintiffs accused Google of collecting user data even when they had chosen to opt out of sharing their web activity. The plaintiffs argued that Google was in violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the California Invasion of Privacy Act.  They also argued that Google had misled users by claiming that their data would not be collected when they opted out of syncing their Google accounts with Chrome. Google has maintained that it does not collect any data from users who have opted out of syncing their Google accounts with Chrome. The company has also stated that it does not collect any data from users who use the Incognito Mode. Google has argued that it collects only the necessary data to provide its services and that the data collected is used to improve its services.

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• Mariana Rocha 15 Dec 2022