Google to Pay $391 Million Privacy Fine for Secretly Tracking Users’ Location

Internet giant Google has agreed to pay a record $391.5 million
to settle with 40 states in the U.S. over charges the company
misled users about the collection of personal location data.

“Google misled its users into thinking they had turned off
location tracking in their account settings, when, in fact, Google
continued to collect their location information,” Oregon Attorney
General Ellen Rosenblum said^[1]
Monday.

“For years Google has prioritized profit over their users’
privacy. They have been crafty and deceptive,” Rosenblum
stated.

The investigation was sparked by a 2018 report^[2]
from the Associated Press that revealed Google was continuing to
track users’ locations on Android and iOS even when users turned
off “location history” in their account settings, effectively
undermining the privacy controls.

Rosenblum said the location data gathered by Google is combined
with other personal and behavioral information it collects to flesh
out detailed user profiles for purposes of ad targeting, adding
even a limited amount of location data can expose a person’s
“identity and routines” and that it can be used to infer personal
details.

As part of the privacy settlement, Google is required to show
additional information to users upon either enabling or disabling a
location-related setting, avoid hiding key information about
location tracking, and offer specifics about the types of location
data collected.

Google, in a related announcement^[3], touted the company’s
auto-delete options^[4]
and settings like Incognito mode on Google Maps and transparency
tools that allow users to access “key location settings right from
our core products.” It also characterized the probe as based on
“outdated product policies.”

The search behemoth further said it will be rolling out more
remedial changes in the upcoming months to include a streamlined
account setup process that will offer a detailed explanation about
users’ web and app activities^[5]
as well as provide simplified settings for deleting location
data.

It also outlined it will make available a “single, comprehensive
information hub that highlights key location settings to help
people make informed choices about their data.”

The development comes three months after the Australian
Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) fined^[6]
Google AU$60 million for “making misleading representations to
consumers about the collection and use of their personal location
data on Android phones between January 2017 and December 2018.”

Last month, the company agreed^[7]
to pay the U.S. state of Arizona $85 million to settle a separate
lawsuit that alleged the search giant illegally tracked users by
recording location data without their consent. Google is facing
similar location-tracking lawsuits in Washington, D.C.^[8], Indiana^[9], Texas^[10], and Washington^[11].

For the third quarter ending September 30, 2022, Google reported^[12] total revenue of $69.09
billion and a net income of $13.9 billion. Overall revenue from
advertising stood at $54.48 billion for the three-month time
period.

“Until we have comprehensive privacy laws, companies will
continue to compile large amounts of our personal data for
marketing purposes with few controls,” Rosenblum pointed out.