Tech News: Google Ordered to Pay $425 Million in Privacy Lawsuit After Jury Verdict
Google has been ordered to pay $425 million in damages after a federal jury in San Francisco found the tech giant liable for violating users’ privacy. The class-action case centered on allegations that Google continued collecting personal data from millions of users, even after they had switched off a tracking feature in their accounts. The ruling is one of the most significant privacy-related verdicts against the company in recent years.
The lawsuit, originally filed in July 2020, argued that over an eight-year period, Google secretly gathered and stored data from mobile devices through its Web & App Activity setting. Despite users disabling the feature, data was still collected via third-party apps like Uber, Venmo, and Instagram. Plaintiffs initially sought more than $31 billion in damages, but the jury awarded a much smaller—yet still substantial—amount.
Jurors concluded that Google had violated user privacy on two out of three claims but stopped short of awarding punitive damages, finding no evidence of malice. In response, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda announced that the company plans to appeal, arguing the decision “misunderstands how our products work.” Castaneda insisted that Google’s privacy tools give people real control over their data and that the company honors personalization settings when turned off.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs, including well-known attorney David Boies, celebrated the ruling, calling it a major win for consumer privacy rights. The verdict adds to Google’s growing list of legal battles over data practices. Earlier this year, the company agreed to pay nearly $1.4 billion to Texas over privacy violations and, in 2024, settled another lawsuit by agreeing to delete billions of browsing records tied to “Incognito” mode.
With 98 million Google users and 174 million devices covered by this class action, the ruling could have far-reaching consequences for how big tech firms handle user data. Privacy advocates say the decision underscores growing global scrutiny of tech companies’ practices, while users may feel more empowered to hold corporations accountable for transparency and consent. Google, however, remains firm in its defense, setting the stage for a potentially lengthy appeals process.
Source: Reuters