The states’ investigation was sparked by a 2018 Associated Press story, which found that Google continued to track people’s location data even after they opted out of such tracking by disabling a feature the company called “location history.”
The attorneys general called the settlement a historic win for consumers, and the largest multistate settlement in U.S history dealing with privacy.
It comes at a time of mounting unease over privacy and surveillance by tech companies that has drawn growing outrage from politicians and scrutiny from regulators. The Supreme Court’s ruling in June ending the constitutional protections for abortion raised potential privacy concerns for women seeking the procedure or related information online.
“This $391.5 million settlement is a historic win for consumers in an era of increasing reliance on technology,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement. “Location data is among the most sensitive and valuable personal information Google collects, and there are so many reasons why a consumer may opt-out of tracking.”
At a news conference, Tong urged consumers to “do a little personal inventory” of their online settings and turn them offif they don’t want them.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that we live in a surveillance economy,” he said. “Understand that you’re being tracked every minute of every day where you are.”
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AUSTRALIA WON'T FORCE SOCIAL MEDIA USERS TO SHARE THEIR PERSONAL DETAILS WHEN CHILD BAN TAKES EFFECT
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FORD, FACING ECONOMIC HEADWINDS AND WEAK EV SALES, TO CUT 4,000 JOBS IN EUROPE
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DELTA CEO SAYS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WILL REVERSE GOVERNMENT 'OVERREACH' SEEN UNDER BIDEN
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NVIDIA RIVALS FOCUS ON BUILDING A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHIP TO POWER AI PRODUCTS
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MICROSOFT PITCHES AI 'AGENTS' THAT CAN PERFORM TASKS ON THEIR OWN AT IGNITE 2024
AI developers are increasingly pitching the next wave of generative AI chatbots as AI \"agents\" that can do more useful things on people's behalf. But the cost of building and running AI tools is so high that more investors are questioning whether the technology's promise is overblown.
