Google is no stranger to the courtroom thanks to lawsuits filed left and right by consumers, competitors, and even government bodies. With that being said, another lawsuit from Washington, D.C., Texas, Washington state, and Indiana have surfaced against the company.
New Lawsuit Against Google
According to the story by TechCrunch, Washington, D.C., Texas, Washington state, and Indiana have all announced their latest lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit alleges that Google deceived its users by collecting their location data despite them believing that kind of tracking was disabled.
Per DC Attorney General Karl Racine, Google has falsely led their consumers to believe that changing their account and device settings would allow them to protect their own privacy and control what type of personal data the company would be able to access.
What the Officials Say Google is Doing to Its Users
Racine noted that the truth, however, is contrary to what the tech giant has said as it continues to systematically surveil customers and even profit from their own customer data. In addition, Racine also described Google's own privacy practices as "bold misrepresentations" that would undermine consumer privacy.
His office started investigating how Google handles its user location data after reporting from the Associated Press in 2018 found that a lot of Google apps stretching across iOS and Android still recorded location data. This is despite users having chosen privacy options explicitly stating that they do not want the data to be recorded.
AP then coordinated directly with computer science researchers coming from Princeton University in order to verify the findings.
Google Says When Location History is Off, Data Won't be Tracked but Report Says Otherwise
AP reported that Google's support page regarding the subject stated that users can turn off Location History at any time. The page also states that, with Location History turned off, the places that the user visits will no longer be stored.
This, however, is alleged to be untrue and that despite Location History being turned off, some Google apps can still automatically store time-stamped location data even without permission.
The lawsuit reportedly argues that Google created a certain location tracking system that is impossible for users to be able to opt out of. The lawsuit also alleges that the company even misled users regarding how privacy settings could protect their data within apps and at the device level on Android.
Google Accused of Relying on Deceptive Dark Pattern Design
The lawsuit is also accusing Google of relying on deceptive dark pattern design in order to force users into making certain choices that counter their own interests. It is being said that these practices may have gone against state laws that are protecting consumers.
Over in Washington, DC, the CPPA or Consumer Protection Procedures Act outlaws a wide number of different deceptive and unconscionable business practices and is already enforced by the attorney general.
Related Article: Google Asks Court to Overturn 2020 Ruling - Lawyer Got $40,000 in 'Dafamation Damages' Over Hyperlink
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
