Google, accused of tracking private browsing user data in ‘Incognito’ mode, settles $5-billion lawsuit

A US complaint claimed that Google violated customers’ privacy by tracking them even when they were using “private mode” on their browser. Google has agreed to resolve this issue.

Google, accused of tracking private browsing user data in ‘Incognito’ mode

On Thursday, California US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers postponed the case’s trial after lawyers negotiated a preliminary deal. Judge Rogers rejected Google’s request to dismiss the case earlier this year, stating she couldn’t believe customers consented to Google collecting browser data. Settlement terms were not disclosed. By February 2024, lawyers must submit a formal settlement to the court. In 2020, Boies Schiller Flexner filed a class action alleging that Google tracked users’ activity even when they set Chrome to “Incognito” and other browsers to “private mode.”

Here Is What A User Shares:

Hoax calls “swatting” have targeted US lawmakers. On Wednesday, police went to Florida Senator Rick Scott’s home after receiving a false report that a gunman had slain his wife. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she was “swatted” with her family on Christmas Day.

Many swatting calls this week targeted Republican lawmakers. No one was hurt. Democratic targets included Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who had a Swat squad visit her home on Christmas. On social media, a conservative backer of Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, Ms. Greene, said it was the latest phony call against her. According to authorities, Swat spoof calls to emergency services to send a Swat squad have surged in popularity.

Over one weekend this month, approximately 200 US Jewish synagogues and schools were attacked. It argued this made Google an “unaccountable trove of information” on customer preferences and “potentially embarrassing things.”

It said Google could not “continue to engage in the covert and unauthorized data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone“. Although many users thought differently, Google stated it was clear about the data it collected in private mode.

Another User Shares:

Search engines stated site owners could “better evaluate the performance of their content, products, marketing and more” by collecting search data, even in private viewing mode. Google Chrome’s Incognito mode lets users search the web without saving their activities. However, websites can track usage with Google Analytics.

Other cases challenge Google’s search and digital advertising methods. Google agreed to pay $700m to settle a lawsuit filed by a coalition of US states accusing it of stifling Android Play Store competition earlier this month. Day after losing a US court battle to Epic Games’ Fortnite, this. The gaming company sued Google in 2020 for illegally dominating the app store.