Google settles user tracking lawsuit $400 Million

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WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) will pay $391.5 million to settle allegations by 40 states that the search and advertising giant illegally tracked users' locations, the Michigan attorney general's office said Monday.

The investigation and settlement, which was led by Oregon and Nebraska, is a sign of mounting legal headaches for the tech giant from state attorneys general who have aggressively targeted the firm's user tracking practices in recent months.

Google to pay nearly $400 million to settle U.S. location-tracking probe

Alphabet's Google will pay $391.5 million to settle allegations by 40 states that the search and advertising giant illegally tracked users' locations, the Michigan attorney general's office said Monday.

www.reuters.com

Providing advertising based on user data that was not explicitly consented to and used toward tracking user affinity (read:interests or previously viewed ads) then using this data for the purposes of segmenting advertisers campaigns.

Goggle-speak didn't cut the mustard

Managing your location data

Location information lets us offer you a more helpful experience when you use our products. From Google Maps’ driving directions that show you how to avoid traffic, to Google Search surfacing local restaurants and letting you know how busy they are, location information helps connect experiences...

blog.google

Hi, we're Google and we are here to help

 

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Hi, we're Google and we are here to help

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Each such lawsuit makes life difficult for advertisers, as data collection is tightened and it is more difficult to target the right audience later.

 

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The bigger they are the harder they fall --has always been my mantra

>>>For 15 years, Garland said, Google has “pursued a course of anti-competitive conduct” that has stalled the rise of rival technologies and manipulated the mechanics of online ad auctions to force advertisers and publishers to use its tools. In so doing, he added, Google ”engaged in exclusionary conduct” that has “severely weakened,” if not destroyed, competition in the ad tech industry. <<<

Justice Dept. sues Google over digital advertising dominance

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department and eight states filed an antitrust suit against Google on Tuesday, seeking to shatter its alleged monopoly on the entire ecosystem of online advertising as a hurtful burden to advertisers, consumers and even the U.S.

apnews.com