Google Makes Final Settlement In Location Tracking By Paying USD 391 Million

Google has agreed to pay a historic $391.5 million settlement to 40 states in the U.S over its location tracking practices. Last month, Google paid $85 million to the state of Arizona to settle the claims that the tech giant illegally tracked the location of Android users.

It is alleged that Google misled users into thinking they had disabled location tracking while the company was still collecting their location data. Oregon and Washington jointly led the investigation, which marked the largest privacy settlement by an attorney general. Oregon Attorney General Rosenblum said in the news release,

“For years Google has prioritized profit over their users’ privacy. They have been crafty and deceptive. Consumers thought they had turned off their location tracking features on Google, but the company continued to secretly record their movements and use that information for advertisers.”

In a statement, Michigan-stated Attorney General Dana Nessel said, 

“The company’s [Google] online reach enables it to target consumers without the consumer’s knowledge or permission. However, the transparency requirements of this settlement will ensure that Google not only makes users aware of how their location data is being used, but also how to change their account settings if they wish to disable location-related account settings, delete the data collected and set data retention limits.”

The settlement aims to help consumers navigate online spaces while protecting their privacy. Location data is a key part of Google’s digital advertising business. Google uses the personal and behavioral data it collects to build detailed user profiles and target ads on behalf of its advertising customers. Location data is among the most sensitive and valuable personal information Google collects. Even a limited amount of location data can expose a person’s identity and routines and can be used to infer personal details.

It was revealed in the settlement that Google misled its users into thinking they had disabled location tracking in their account settings, when in fact it was still collecting their location data. Google has also committed to improving location tracking disclosures and user controls in 2023 as part of the multimillion-dollar settlement with the AGs.

What the settlement requires Google to do?

The settlement requires Google to be more transparent with consumers about its practices. Google must:

– Show additional information to users whenever they turn a location-related account setting “on” or “off”;

– Make key information about location tracking unavoidable for users (i.e., not hidden); and

– Give users detailed information about the types of location data Google collects and how it’s used at an enhanced “Location Technologies” webpage.

The settlement also limits Google’s use and storage of certain types of location information and requires Google account controls to be more user-friendly.

What Google plans to do?

A Google blog post stated that some of the location tracking practices detailed in the settlement had already been corrected by the company.

Google spokesperson told TechCrunch, “Consistent with improvements we’ve made in recent years, we have settled this investigation which was based on outdated product policies that we changed years ago.”

Google said it will also start providing more “detailed” information about the data it collects tracking during the account setup process and is launching a new toggle to turn off and delete your location history and web and app activity “in one simple flow.”

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