Google Must Pay $425M for Privacy Breach

A U.S. jury has determined that Google is liable to pay $425 million for breaching user privacy. The lawsuit found that, over eight years, Google continued collecting and using data from users’ devices even after claiming it would stop.

Users sought more than $31 billion in damages, but the jury awarded $425 million, holding Google responsible for two of three privacy claims. Since no malice was detected, there will be no punitive damages. Google plans to appeal, arguing that the decision misinterprets how its products function. The users’ lawyer expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

The class action lawsuit filed in July 2020 claimed that Google kept collecting user data even after users disabled tracking by using analytics tools in apps such as Uber, Venmo, and Instagram.

During the trial, Google argued that its data wasn’t personal and was stored securely without linking to user identities. The judge approved a class action covering about 98 million users and 174 million devices. Google also faced other privacy cases, including a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas earlier this year.

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In April 2024, Google agreed to erase billions of user records to settle a lawsuit alleging it tracked users even in private or “Incognito” mode.