In a settlement of a class-action lawsuit, Google has announced its intention to delete millions of records of users’ browsing activities.
The lawsuit, filed in 2020, accused the Alphabet Inc. unit of tracking people without their knowledge while they used the Chrome web browser’s private “incognito” browsing mode.
The settlement, reached in December, includes Google’s agreement to expunge “billions” of data records reflecting people’s private browsing, as disclosed in a filing at San Francisco federal court on Monday. Google has also made several changes to its disclosures regarding data collection and agreed to allow incognito mode users to block third-party cookies for the next five years.
While the incognito mode allows users to turn off data collection while using the Chrome browser, the lawsuit alleged that Google’s other tools, such as advertising technology, continued to collect their data. Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesperson, stated, “We never associate data with users when they use incognito mode. We are happy to delete old technical data that was never associated with an individual and was never used for any form of personalization.”
Although the plaintiffs sought $5 billion in damages, the settlement does not include any payment from Google. Instead, individuals will have the opportunity to pursue damages by filing complaints against Google in US state courts. Approximately 50 people have already done so, according to plaintiffs’ lawyers.
The settlement, described as “groundbreaking” by attorney David Boies and a “historic step” in requiring transparency from big tech companies about data collection and usage, provides “substantial relief” for plaintiffs, according to representatives of the consumers involved in the lawsuit.
The agreement to retroactively delete user information is significant for Google’s advertising business, which relies heavily on user data. It comes at a time when Google is facing multiple regulatory challenges in the US and abroad, amidst growing concerns about the use of data collected from users by tech giants.
The settlement also averted a trial scheduled for February, in a year expected to be busy for Google in the courts. Notably, a jury trial in a lawsuit from the US Justice Department and a coalition of state attorneys general accusing the company of antitrust violations is scheduled for September, while a similar lawsuit from Texas and other states challenging its ad tech practices is set for March 2025. Additionally, a landmark federal antitrust trial alleging illegal monopolization of the online search market is ongoing in Washington.
