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New Jersey has reached a settlement with Google, bringing a major multi-state investigation regarding allegations that the US tech giant misled its customers in regard to its location data collection to a close.
Marking the largest multi-state investigation with state attorneys-general in US history, the 40 participating states will receive a combined payout of $391.5 million. New Jersey alone is set to receive $17.79 million.
The case was first opened by New Jersey Attorney-General Matthew J. Platkin following an article by the Associated Press which unveiled that Google “records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to”, referring to the account settings on Location History and Web & App Activity.
When a user creates a Google account, location history is off unless the setting is enabled by the user, however Web & App Activity is on by default. Web & App Activity also collected location information.
All of this data is key in the company’s advertising business, allowing it to tailor ads to users.
“Digital platforms like Google cannot claim to provide privacy controls to users then turn around and disregard those controls to collect and sell data to advertisers against users’ express wishes — and at great profit,” said Attorney-General Platkin.
“When online platforms violate consumers’ right to privacy, they put their users at risk. This settlement holds Google accountable for its misleading conduct and requires the company to make meaningful changes to its business practices to ensure consumers’ privacy rights are respected and protected.”
The settlement claims that Google had violated state consumer protection laws with misleading information on its location tracking since 2014.
“When an online company promises consumers privacy, we expect them to make good on that promise,” said Cari Fais, acting director of the Division of Consumer Affairs.
“Google’s privacy controls did not stop Google from collecting data, regardless of what choices consumers made, a clear and egregious violation of their own business model and our consumer protection laws. This settlement sends a clear message that we will hold companies accountable when they fail to follow through on the assurances they make to consumers.”
As part of the settlement, Google will meet a series of conditions moving forward that will reward customers a better understanding of how data is used and collected, such as showing customers more information whenever they turn a setting on or off, showing key information about location tracking more clearly, and creating a “Location Technologies” that explains in detail how Google data is used.
Google will also be restricted on the amount of data it can store and how it uses it.
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