Google getting sued for location-tracking - know the story behind this

A lawsuit was filed on January 24 alleging Google of recording customers’ locations after users tried to turn off the company’s tracking on their web browsers and smartphones. The complaint filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, asserts that Google’s location tracking system is constructed in a way that makes it impossible for users to opt out. It also says that Google misled users about how privacy settings could protect their data within apps and at the device level on Android.

The 43-page suit also contended that Google relies on deceptive dark pattern design to force users into making choices counter to their own interests.

“These practices include privacy-intrusive default location settings, hard-to-find location settings, misleading descriptions of location settings, repeated nudging to enable location settings, and incomplete disclosures of Google’s location data collection and processing,” the complaint read.

The suit stated that location data is central to Google’s profitable advertising business, and so the company has a financial incentive that dissuades users from withholding access to that data. It continues to collect user location with the “Web & App Activity” feature.

“…Google has employed and continues to employ a number of deceptive and unfair practices to obtain users’ ‘consent’ to be tracked and to make it nearly impossible for users to stop,” according to the complaint.

Similar lawsuits are being filed in Indiana, Texas and Washington state courts, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). However, Google on its part disputed these claims.

“The attorneys general are bringing a case based on inaccurate claims and outdated assertions about our settings,” a Google spokesman said. “We have always built privacy features into our products and provided robust controls for location data. We will vigorously defend ourselves and set the record straight.”

This latest suit comes less than two weeks after the Austrian Data Protection Authority ruled that the continuous use of Google Analytics violates Europe’s privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a decision that could have a significant impact on U.S. cloud services.

The lawsuit is based on a 2018 report by news agency The Associated Press (AP), which highlighted how Google continued to collect user data, even if the user turned off the option from the settings of their device. After the report, Google was forced to update its policy on location tracking.

However, this is not the first time Google is being sued for such claims. A similar case was filed against the tech giant by the state of Arizona in 2020 around location tracking, arguing that the search giant made it impossible for users to not share location.

Why is this lawsuit crucial?

Location data in the hands of Google is powerful because the company can then monitor consumers’ daily lives, especially since so much depends on the company and its products on a daily basis. This data can be used to derive insights about consumers and then also sell advertising ‘targeted’ to them, it adds.

Like the lawsuit points out, Google has financial motives at stake given the billions of dollars in advertising and that is another reason why it wants to make it more difficult for users to opt out of location tracking.