Security News > 2022 > November > Google to Pay $391 Million Privacy Fine for Secretly Tracking Users' Location

Internet giant Google has agreed to pay a record $391.5 million to settle with 40 states in the U.S. over charges the company misled users about the collection of personal location data.

"Google misled its users into thinking they had turned off location tracking in their account settings, when Google continued to collect their location information," Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Monday.

Rosenblum said the location data gathered by Google is combined with other personal and behavioral information it collects to flesh out detailed user profiles for purposes of ad targeting, adding even a limited amount of location data can expose a person's "Identity and routines" and that it can be used to infer personal details.

As part of the privacy settlement, Google is required to show additional information to users upon either enabling or disabling a location-related setting, avoid hiding key information about location tracking, and offer specifics about the types of location data collected.

Google, in a related announcement, touted the company's auto-delete options and settings like Incognito mode on Google Maps and transparency tools that allow users to access "Key location settings right from our core products." It also characterized the probe as based on "Outdated product policies."

Last month, the company agreed to pay the U.S. state of Arizona $85 million to settle a separate lawsuit that alleged the search giant illegally tracked users by recording location data without their consent.

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https://thehackernews.com/2022/11/google-to-pays-391-million-privacy-fine.html