Google agrees to delete billions of data records in privacy lawsuit settlement

Google has reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging that it surreptitiously tracked the internet activity of individuals who believed they were browsing in private mode, agreeing to delete billions of data records as part of the resolution.

Terms of the settlement were submitted on Monday to the federal court in Oakland, California, and await approval from U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

According to lawyers representing the plaintiffs, the settlement is estimated to be worth over $5 billion, with some valuing it as high as $7.8 billion. While users will not receive monetary damages as part of the settlement, they retain the right to pursue individual claims for damages.

The class action lawsuit, initiated in 2020, encompasses millions of Google users who utilized private browsing features since June 1, 2016.

Users alleged that Google’s analytics, cookies, and applications enabled the Alphabet unit to improperly monitor individuals who utilised Google’s Chrome browser in “Incognito” mode, as well as users of other browsers in “private” browsing mode.

More from World

This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal Zohran Mamdani says he would arrest Netanyahu if he is elected as NYC mayor, calls Israeli PM 'war criminal'

They contended that this practice transformed Google into an “unaccountable repository of information,” allowing the company to gather details about users’ social connections, preferences, interests, shopping behaviors, and even their most sensitive and potentially embarrassing online searches.

Under the settlement, Google will update disclosures about what it collects in “private” browsing, a process it has already begun. It will also let Incognito users block third-party cookies for five years.

“The result is that Google will collect less data from users’ private browsing sessions, and that Google will make less money from the data,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to court papers, Google supports final approval of the settlement but disagrees with the plaintiffs’ “legal and factual characterizations.”

David Boies, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, in a statement called the settlement “a historic step in requiring honesty and accountability from dominant technology companies.”

A preliminary settlement had been reached in December, advertising a scheduled Feb. 5, 2024 trial. Terms were not disclosed at the time. The plaintiffs’ lawyers plan to later seek unspecified legal fees payable by Google.

With inputs from Reuters