Google faces a new lawsuit from Washington D.C. due to its deceptive use of location data. Four attorneys general (AG) from D.C., Indiana, Texas, and Washington separately filed cases accusing Google of misleading its users. While it adds to the tech giant’s growing list of legal encounters, the company said the case is based on inaccurate claims.
Google Sued by Washington D.C.: Key Facts
Google is sued by Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine allegedly for deceiving users and invading their privacy. He shared that his office will file the complaint on Monday in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
The case claims that although Google has permitted users to turn off location tracking and enable enhanced privacy settings, it still collects people’s location data.
Racine said Indiana, Texas, and Washington state would also file similar lawsuits against Google.
José Castañeda (Google spokesperson) said the lawsuit is “based on inaccurate claims and outdated assertions about settings.” In his statement to Forbes, he emphasized the changes made to Google maps, search, and Android phones since 2019.
Background of the Case
“Google deceptively led consumers to believe that changing their account and device settings would let customers safeguard their privacy and control what personal data they could access,” D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said. “The truth is opposite to the firm’s statements. It continues to track customers and profit from customer data systematically.”
Racine defined Google’s privacy practices as “bold misrepresentations” that damage consumer privacy. His office has been investigating how Google handles user location data. A report from the Associated Press in 2018 found that several Google apps (iOS and Android) recorded location data. This still happens even when users have chosen privacy options that explicitly say they won’t. The A.P. worked with computer science researchers at Princeton to verify these findings.
“Google’s support page on the subject says: ‘You can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored,'” the A.P. reported. “That is not true. Even with Location History disabled, some Google apps automatically store time-stamped location data without asking.”
Moreover, the lawsuit argues that Google created a location tracking system that makes it impossible to opt-out. The company also misled users about how privacy settings could protect their data within apps and at the device level on Android. It also accuses Google of relying on a misleading dark pattern design to oblige users into making choices contrary to their interests.
Those practices may have violated state laws protecting consumers. In Washington, DC, the Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA) prohibits “a wide variety of deceptive and unconscionable business practices” implemented by the attorney general.
An Arizona judge dealt a setback to the Arizona lawsuit last year by denying a request for summary judgment, saying there wasn’t strong enough evidence that Google had misled consumers.
Google’s Response
Google denied the claims in the suit, mentioning the recent changes like the ability to auto-delete location history.
José Castañeda added that the Alphabet-owned search giant had updated how it stores and communicates to users regarding location settings. Specifically, it allows users to delete location data regularly beginning June 2019. And in June 2020, Google made auto-delete as default for new accounts. In addition, the firm also made changes to limit the way it collects location data when users search on Google. That is to collect the general area a user is searching from instead of a precise location.
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