Google has reached a settlement in a lawsuit that accused the tech giant of illegal surveillance practices involving its Chrome web browser. As part of the agreement, Google will delete billions of personal records collected from over 136 million internet users in the U.S.
The lawsuit, filed in June 2020, alleged that Google tracked Chrome users' internet activity even when the browser was set to 'Incognito' mode, which is meant to protect users' privacy.
The settlement terms, disclosed in a court filing, require Google to remove the stored personal data and provide clearer privacy disclosures regarding Chrome's privacy controls. The deal also includes measures to limit Google's collection of personal information.
While consumers involved in the class-action lawsuit will not receive any monetary compensation, the settlement is seen as a significant win for personal privacy rights. The attorneys representing Chrome users valued the settlement at $4.75 billion to $7.8 billion based on potential ad sales generated from the collected data.
Despite the settlement, Google remains exposed to further legal action related to similar privacy issues. Individual consumers can still pursue damages against the company through civil complaints in state courts.
Investors, however, appear unfazed by the settlement terms, with Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company, seeing a 3% rise in shares following the announcement. The market value of Alphabet Inc. now stands at $1.9 trillion.
Legal experts view the settlement as a positive development for data privacy, potentially influencing how personal information is handled online in the future. The agreement requires companies to refrain from profiting off data and undertake efforts to delete stored information.
Google faces additional regulatory challenges, including allegations of search engine dominance abuse and potential changes to its Android app store that could impact its revenue streams. A federal judge is expected to rule on the search engine case in the autumn, while a hearing on modifications to the Play Store is scheduled for late May.
