Google sued for illegally invading user privacy.
In a recent report Google is being sued in a proposed class action accusing the internet search company of illegally invading the privacy of millions of users by pervasively tracking their internet use through browsers set in “private” mode. The Google lawsuit seeks at least $5 billion, accusing the Alphabet Inc unit of collecting information about what people view online and where they browse, despite their using what Google calls Incognito mode.
Google’s actions violate Federal wiretapping and California privacy laws.
According to the Complaint filed in the federal court in San Jose, California, Google gathers data through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager and other applications and website plug-ins, including smartphone apps, regardless of whether users click on Google-supported ads.
This helps Google learn about users’ friends, hobbies, favorite foods, shopping habits, and even the “most intimate and potentially embarrassing things” they search for online, the complaint said. Google “cannot continue to engage in the covert and unauthorized data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone,” the complaint said.
While users may view private browsing as a safe haven from watchful eyes, computer security researchers have long raised concern that Google and rivals might augment user profiles by tracking people’s identities across different browsing modes, combining data from private and ordinary internet surfing.
The complaint said the proposed class likely includes “millions” of Google users who since June 1, 2016 browsed the internet in “private” mode.
Persons who meet eligibility requirements could receive $5,000 in damages.
The Google lawsuit seeks at least $5,000 of damages per user for violations of federal wiretapping and California privacy laws.
Paragraph 95 of the Complaint sets out the eligibility requirements for prospective claimants.
- Class 1 – All Android device owners who viewed a website page containing Google Analytics or Ad Manager using such a device, and who were (a) in “private browsing mode” on that device’s browser, and (b) did not log into their Google account on that device’s browser during that session, but whose communications, including identifying information and online browsing history, Defendant Google nevertheless intercepted, received, or collected from June 1, 2016 through the present (the “Class Period”).
- Class 2 – All individuals with a Google account who accessed a website page containing Google Analytics or Ad Manager using any non-android device, and who were (a) in “private browsing mode” in that device’s browser, and (b) did not log into their Google account on that device’s web browser during that session, but whose communications, including identifying information and online browsing history, Defendant Google nevertheless intercepted, received, or collected from June 1, 2016 through the present
If you meet any of the above requirements, please contact Emerson Firm today .
Call Us Toll Free at 1-800-551-8649