Google Settles $5bn Lawsuit

Google agrees to settle $5bn lawsuit claiming it secretly tracked user

The lawsuit alleges that google spied on ‘incognito’ chrome users as well as other browser users in private mode.

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Set for February 5, 2024, the trial paused as Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, halted proceedings due to an initial settlement agreement between Google and consumer plaintiffs.

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Details of the settlement remain under wraps. Lawyers are likely to present a formal settlement for court approval by February 24, 2024.

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Internal Google emails brought forward in the lawsuit demonstrated that users using incognito mode were being followed by the search and advertising behemoth for measuring web traffic and selling ads.

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The lawsuit, filed in a California court, claimed Google's practices had infringed on users' privacy by "intentionally" deceiving them with the incognito option.

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It added that Google could not "continue to engage in the covert and unauthorized data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone".

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Google said it had been upfront about the data it collected when users viewed in private mode, even if many users assumed otherwise.

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Google Chrome's Incognito mode lets users browse privately, preventing activity from being saved. However, websites may still track usage through tools like Google Analytics.

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This came days after it lost a US court battle to Fortnite maker Epic Games. The video game company sued Google in 2020 for unlawfully making its app store dominant over rivals.

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