Google settles $5 billion lawsuit for illegally tracking millions of users in privacy mode

Alphabet’s Google has settled a consumer lawsuit accusing the company of covertly tracking the internet activities of millions of individuals who believed their browsing was private. This settlement underscores the point that being in privacy mode doesn’t necessarily mean Google isn’t keeping an eye on you.

According to Reuters, Google and consumers reached a preliminary settlement just ahead of a planned February trial, leading a California judge to postpone the proceedings. On Thursday, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers delayed the scheduled Feb. 5, 2024 trial in the proposed class action lawsuit, following the announcement of a preliminary settlement by lawyers representing both Google and the consumers.

The news comes just three months after Google agreed to another $155 million settlement to resolve claims from the state of California and private plaintiffs, alleging that the company misled consumers about its tracking of their locations and unauthorized use of their data.

While the terms of the latest settlement were not disclosed, lawyers mentioned reaching a binding term sheet through mediation. They anticipate presenting a formal settlement for court approval by February 24, 2024, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, neither Google nor the lawyers representing the plaintiff consumers have responded to comments on the story.

The lawsuit contended that Google, through its analytics, cookies, and apps, continued to track user activity even when individuals set Google’s Chrome browser to “Incognito” mode or other browsers to “private” browsing mode. The plaintiffs argued that this turned Google into an “unaccountable trove of information,” allowing the company to learn about users’ friends, hobbies, favorite foods, shopping habits, and potentially embarrassing online searches.

In August, Judge Rogers rejected Google’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, stating that it remained uncertain whether Google had made a legally binding promise not to collect users’ data during private browsing. She cited Google’s privacy policy and other company statements that hinted at limitations on the information it might collect.

Filed in 2020, the lawsuit covered “millions” of Google users from June 1, 2016, onward, seeking at least $5,000 in damages per user for alleged violations of federal wiretapping and California privacy laws. The case is known as Brown et al v Google LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-03664.

A year ago, Google was fined $43 million for misleading users about the collection of their personal location data. The settlement came about eight months after US District Judge Lucy Koh was reportedly “disturbed” to learn that Google still tracks users in ‘Incognito’ mode in its Chrome browser.

Meanwhile, Google’s advertising revenue in the first half of 2023 reached $110.9 billion, constituting 81% of its total revenue of $137.7 billion.