Google Settles $5 Bln Privacy Breach Lawsuit

(RTTNews) - Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOG) Google has agreed to settle a $5 billion consumer privacy lawsuit from 2020, accusing it of secretly tracking users' browsing activity in incognito mode, a privacy setting that removes browsing data from the device.

The lawsuit, led by William Byatt from Florida and Chasom Brown and Maria Nguyen from California on behalf of numerous Google users who felt that Google broke privacy rules, sought at least $5,000 per user in damages for violations of California privacy laws.

The plaintiffs claimed that Google breached users' privacy by gathering their personal data, including "potentially embarrassing things" they might have browsed through in Incognito mode. Furthermore, they accused Google of using tools like Google Analytics and browser plug-ins to monitor users.

The tech giant defended itself by stating that even in incognito mode, it was transparent about data collection norms, and the collected data was later passed to website owners to improve their sites.

The presiding judge dismissed Google's claim, citing that the message in privacy statements was not as clear as it could be, and rejected the company's request to put an end to the lawsuit.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers scheduled a trial for February 5, 2024, after lawyers from both parties reached a preliminary settlement.

The settlement terms have not been divulged, but the lawyers said they have reached an agreement through mediation and would present a formal settlement agreement before the court by February 24, 2024.