From Nasdaq:

Google has agreed to settle a lawsuit over claims it secretly tracked the internet use of millions of people, expecting to present the settlement for court approval by Feb. 24, 2024. The lawsuit covered “millions” of Google users since June 1, 2016, and sought at least $5,000 in damages per user for violations of federal wire-tapping and California privacy laws.

The plaintiffs had alleged that Google’s analytics, cookies and apps let the Alphabet unit track their activity even when they set Google’s Chrome browser to “Incognito” mode and other browsers to “private” browsing mode. This gave Google access to information about their friends, hobbies, favorite foods, shopping habits, and “potentially embarrassing things” they sought out online.

In August, the judge rejected Google’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit, citing Google’s privacy policy and other statements that suggested limits on what information it might collect. The case is now on hold, and a formal settlement is expected by Feb. 24, 2024.

Neither Google nor lawyers for the plaintiff consumers immediately responded to requests for comment. The settlement terms were not disclosed. The lawsuit had sought at least $5 billion in damages, and the preliminary settlement may require Google to pay a substantial sum to consumers.

The case is Brown et al v Google LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-03664. The Judge has agreed to the preliminary settlement, putting a scheduled Feb. 5, 2024 trial in the proposed class action on hold.



Read more: Google settles $5 billion consumer privacy lawsuit