Arizona sues Google over claim that it illegally tracked location of Android users

Arizona is now asking the court to force Google to pay the profits earned via the ads that monetise the data collected in the state.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Aug 20 2022, 21:11 IST
Arizona is also seeking up to $10,000 per violation.
Arizona is also seeking up to $10,000 per violation. (REUTERS)

The US state of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against Google claiming that the tech giant illegally tracked the location of Android users in the state.

According to a report by The Washington Post, the state in its lawsuit has claimed that Google collected the location data of Android users without informing them. The company, as per the lawsuit, recorded the location data for apps such as mapping and weather even for the users who had disabled the location tracking feature.

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“When consumers try to opt out of Google's collection of location data, the company is continuing to find misleading ways to obtain information and use it for profit,” Brnovich (R) said in a statement to the Post.

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The state also faulted Google for providing hard-to-find settings and for changing the default tracking settings without informing the user or seeking explicit consent. The state is now asking the court to force Google to pay the profits earned via the ads that monetise the data collected in the state. In addition to that, Arizona is also seeking up to $10,000 per violation.

“At some point, people or companies that have a lot of money think they can do whatever the hell they want to do, and feel like they are above the law...I wanted Google to get the message that Arizona has a state consumer fraud act. They may be the most innovative company in the world, but that doesn't mean they're above the law,” Brnovich added.

Google on its part has defended itself saying that the state has "mischaracterized our services." “We have always built privacy features into our products and provided robust controls for location data. We look forward to setting the record straight,” Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said in a statement.

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First Published Date: 28 May, 16:45 IST
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