Jury orders Google to pay $425 million in privacy class-action lawsuit

The class-action lawsuit, filed in 2020, claimed that Google continued to collect user data through third-party apps like Uber and Instagram, even when users had disabled the "Web & App Activity" setting. While the plaintiffs had sought over $31 billion in damages, the jury found Google liable on two of the three privacy claims. However, it did not find the company acted with malice, thus denying any punitive damages.

Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda stated the company plans to appeal the decision. "This decision misunderstands how our products work," Castaneda said. "Our privacy tools give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalization, we honor that choice.”

In court, Google argued that any data collected was "nonpersonal, pseudonymous" and not linked to individual user accounts. However, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, David Boies, said the team was "obviously very pleased with the verdict."

This is not the first time Google has faced legal trouble over its data practices. Earlier this year, the company paid a nearly $1.4 billion settlement to Texas over privacy law violations. Additionally, in April 2024, Google agreed to destroy billions of data records to settle a lawsuit that alleged it was tracking users in "Incognito" mode.