Last year some users found that even if they choose to turn off the tracking function, they will still be tracked by Google. So the state of Washington accused Google of defrauding its users and filed a lawsuit against Google. Now, Google has decided to pay Washington State $39.9 million to settle.
Ferguson’s office said Google defrauded Washington consumers of their ability to choose whether companies could track their sensitive location data, deceived them about their privacy choices, and profited from it.
Google continues to collect location data from its users even when users have turned off the “location history” option in their account settings, the state said. In practice, it is “almost impossible” for users to prevent Google from tracking their location, the suit also states.
Google also had to make several concessions as part of the settlement, including showing users extra information when they toggle location settings on or off in their accounts. The settlement also requires the company to display location-tracking-related information to users and provide more details about the type of location data it collects and its purpose.
