iPhone owners in the United Kingdom have set their eyes on Google. This representative action group has a legal grievance against the technology company.
Google You Owe Us
On Monday, May 21, Google representatives entered a London courtroom for a hearing that was set in motion by the citizens' group known as Google You Owe Us. This group represents 4.4 million iPhone users in the United Kingdom. Google You Owe Us believes that on June 1, 2011 and Feb. 1, 2012, the technology company took data from iPhones illegally.
The large group is confident that Google made money by harvesting browsing data without consent. Google You Owe Us claims that the company used a piece of computer code that bypassed Apple's Safari's privacy security settings. Through its browsing data, Google allegedly was able to learn all about the users' online habits. Also, the group adds that Google sold their data to an advertising network called the DoubleClick Service.
A representative for Google You Owe Us corresponded with Tech Times and stated that the group was launched by former Which? executive director Richard Lloyd, who founded the group in November 2017. The group hopes to get compensation from the company and show one of the world's biggest companies that Google is not above the law.
The Legal Drama Begins
Lloyd's lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson, told the court that once Google got the necessary data, they began to divide the people into groups. The collections represented their ethnic background, sexuality, shopping habits, hobbies, and financial backgrounds.
Tomlinson believes that Google broke the law and that the technology company's actions affected millions of people in England and Wales. If Google You Owe Us is successful in this lawsuit, they would able to receive over $4.3 billion in damages. Individually, the 4.4 million iPhone owners would receive around $1,000 each.
Google Speaks
Google's legal team stated that Lloyd had ulterior motives with the lawsuit. They believe that he wants to hold the company accountable for their actions rather than looking to help the millions of people he represented in the legal suit. The legal team added that Google had denied the allegations and wanted to throw out Google You Owe Us' complaint.
"The privacy and security of our users are extremely important to us. This case relates to events that took place over six years ago and that we addressed at the time. We believe it has no merit and should be dismissed. We've filed evidence in support of that view and look forward to making our case in Court," said Tom Price, Google UK communications director, in a statement to Tech Times.
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