Google has agreed to pay a $93 million fine to the state of California over claims it tracked users without their knowledge.
According to an agreement between Google and the state of California, Google must provide more information about the location data it collects from users.
The investigation by the California Department of Justice shows that Google engaged in deceptive practices related to the storage and use of users’ location data for purposes such as advertising without users’ knowledge.
According to the lawsuit filed by the state of California, Google continued to collect and store users’ location data even when they had disabled their location history in the settings of apps and services.
After this settlement, Google has agreed to introduce more user-friendly account controls while limiting the use and storage of certain categories of location data.
Google fixed the problem several years ago, and a company spokesperson said the charges were based on old policies that had changed over the years.
However, California is now asking Google to clarify the location data it collects.
Google should also be more transparent about tracking and collecting location data and provide users with more information when location-based account settings are enabled.
This is not the first time that Google has been fined
The United States has also fined Google for illegally collecting users’ locations.
Last November, Google agreed to pay $391.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by attorneys general from 40 US states over similar data breaches.
In August 2022, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) fined Google $60 million for deceiving and collecting location data from Australian Android users over almost two years.
France’s National Commission for Informatics and Freedom (CNIL) also fined Google $170 million in January 2022 for violating internet users’ consent rights, making it difficult to opt out of website tracking cookies hidden behind multiple clicks.
Here is, what Google must now do, for Californians:
- Show additional information to users when enabling location-related account settings.
- Provide more transparency about location tracking.
- Google must Provide users with detailed information about the location data that Google collects, and how it will use through a “Location Technologies” web page.
- Google should make it clear to users that, it may use their location information to personalize ads.
- Disclose to users before using Location History data to build ad-targeting profiles for users.
- Obtain review by Google’s internal Privacy Working Group and document approval for all material changes to location-setting and ads personalization disclosures that will have a material impact on privacy.
