Google will be required to erase the online browsing data of millions who were tracked without their consent. The American tech giant has reached a settlement to resolve a class action that accused it of continuing to collect information about internet users while they browsed in private mode, according to an advance report from The Wall Street Journal.
In 2020, a group of consumers filed a lawsuit alleging that Chrome’s history was tracked even when users activated the private browsing option. The suit claimed the company did not inform users about this invasive practice.
After four years of litigation, Google and the plaintiffs disclosed details of an agreement in which the company pledges to delete billions of data points that were allegedly collected improperly. The Mountain View, California-based firm will also update how it describes data collection during private browsing and will allow users to disable third-party cookies from being tracked.
Until now, Chrome’s private tab asserted that users could “browse privately so that other users do not see your activity.” The language is being clarified: “This will not change how the sites you visit and the services you use, including Google, collect data. Downloads, bookmarks, and items in the reading list will be saved.”
Compensation for individual users
Yet this is not the final chapter in Google’s legal troubles. Individual lawsuits against the tech giant are now seeking compensation for the unconsented tracking of online activity when users believed their privacy was protected. Facing these privacy and transparency concerns, plaintiffs are seeking a combined award of five billion dollars, five thousand dollars for each person who was tracked exclusively in California between 2016 and 2020.