Google To Pay $391 Million Fine For Illegally Tracking Users' Locations

Google is expected to shell out almost $400 million to settle a location tracking probe. Alphabet's Google will pay $391.5 million to settle allegations by 40 US states that claimed the company was illegally tracking users' locations.

The investigation and settlement was led by the states of Oregon and Nebraska. State attorneys general have been going after Google's user tracking practices for months now.

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Forcing transparency on Google

Besides coughing out $391 million, Google will be required to become more transparent with consumers, especially with location tracking in the mix. Google is expected to provide detailed information about location-tracking data on a special web page, Reuters said, citing the Iowa attorney general's office.

"When consumers make the decision to not share location data on their devices, they should be able to trust that a company will no longer track their every move," said Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller in a statement. "This settlement makes it clear that companies must be transparent in how they track customers and abide by state and federal privacy laws," Miller added.

Also read: India Fines Google Second Time In A Week, Company To Pay Rs. 936 Crore Penalty

Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the following - "Consistent with improvements we've made in recent years, we have settled this investigation, which was based on outdated product policies that we changed years ago."

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In addition, Google wrote a blog post on Monday, claiming that it would be "making updates in the coming months to provide even greater controls and transparency over location data."

Users will eventually be able to delete location data with more ease. New users will be given auto-delete controls that require Google to delete certain information as it ages.

Also read: Explained: Why Has CCI Slapped Google With ?936.44 Crore Fine

In 2018, various state attorneys had opened an investigation into Google after reports claimed that the company was tracking location data when users instruct it not to. Google had been misleading consumers about location-tracking practices since at least 2014, the probe found.

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This explains Google's mammoth $111 billion revenue from advertising in the first half of 2022 - more than any competitor. A user's location is intrinsic to successful ad placements that appear relevant.

What do you think about Google's fallout? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

Bartz, D., Shepardson, D., Freifeld, K., & Bartz, D. (2022, November 14). Google to pay nearly $400 million to settle U.S. location-tracking probe. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/legal/exclusive-google-pay-about-400-million-settle-location-tracking-lawsuit-sources-2022-11-14/