Google to appeal $425M jury privacy verdict - EXCLUSIVE

Google has been ordered to pay $425.7 million in damages to nearly 100 million users for violating their privacy, according to a jury verdict from a federal court in San Francisco, as reported by U.S. media.

The tech giant was found guilty of continuing to collect users’ private data even after they had disabled tracking settings, the jury concluded.

José Castañeda, Google Spokesperson, in an exclusive interview with CE Report commented on the verdict:

“This decision misunderstands how our products work, and we will appeal it. Our privacy tools give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalization, we honor that choice,” said Google Spokesperson.

How Web & App Activity Works

The Web & App Activity setting is a helpful tool for Google users that lets them decide if they want their activity on sites and apps to be saved to their Google Account to give them a more personalized experience. Users can turn it off at any time and that data will not be saved to their Google Account or used to personalize their experience.

When users turn Web & App Activity off in their Google account, businesses using Google Analytics may still collect information about traffic to their sites and apps. This information does not identify individual users and respects their privacy choices.

How Google Analytics Works

Google Analytics is a measurement tool that businesses use to better understand their website and app traffic and performance.

Businesses (in this case, third-party apps) who use Google Analytics, not Google, own and control the data they collect using the tool.

Businesses that use Google Analytics are required to give people proper notice about the information they are collecting and how it’s being used.

By default, any data that businesses using Google Analytics collect does not identify individuals or their Google Account.

This interview was prepared by Abdul Karimkhanov