Google to pay huge sum of money in US lawsuit over user privacy claims. Allegedly, Google violated privacy even when users were browsing in ‘Private Mode’. Google will have to pay a fine of at least five billion dollars to settle this case. News Reuters and media.
Earlier, various top technology companies were seen to be under investigation for conducting their own operations in several countries including the United States. This time the US search giant Google is in trouble. According to a California court, both plaintiffs and defendants have reached a preliminary settlement. However, the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. According to the sources, the lawyers may release the settlement document by February 2024.
The case was filed by New York-based law firm ‘Bois Skylar Flexner’. They alleged that Google ‘tracked’ their activities even when users were browsing the Internet in ‘Incognito’ mode of Google Chrome browser or ‘Private mode’ of other browsers. Through this, Google has created a “repository of information” about user preferences and even “potentially embarrassing topics,” the lawsuit states. Search engine company Google claims that they have never been secretive about data collection.
Chrome browser’s incognito mode was created to allow users to browse the internet without saving their search history. However, with the help of features like ‘Google Analytics’, the websites visited by the user can track his usage level.
Earlier this year, Judge Rogers denied Google’s appeal to dismiss the case. As a reason for this, he said, he cannot agree with the statement that Google has taken users’ permission before collecting information related to browsing. Before this, Google has faced several lawsuits related to its own search system and digital advertising activities. A few days ago, Google lost a case filed by Epic Games, the maker of the Fortnite game, in the US court. In a lawsuit filed in 2020, the video game maker alleged that Google was illegally dominating the App Store and stifling rivals.
