It is known that in the 20-page decision announced on January 7 (local time), Federal court Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco rejected Google's argument that the company had fully communicated the operation of the installation called "Activities on the Web and Applications" and that users had agreed to be tracked. Google also argues that recording their basic activity logs "does not harm anyone."
Those who use mobile devices that do not run Android have accused Google of violating their privacy. The technology giant also violated California's laws on illegal computer access by interfering with and storing personal website browsing history without their consent.
Judge Seeborg also said that users have reason to condemn Google's behavior. Because the company collected data despite concerns from some employees and knew that its announcements were still vague.
He cited internal exchanges showing that Google intentionally neglects to distinguish between data collected inside and outside Google accounts because users may find the reality "alarming".
In addition, Judge Seeborg also said that Google employees may be just proposing ways to improve the company's products and services. Therefore, according to this Judge, Google's explanation or the preferred plaintiffs' explanation is a real issue that needs to be brought to trial.
Previously, in August 2024, the San Francisco Federal Court of Appeals reversed a lawsuit alleging that Google was tracking Chrome browser users after they chose not to synchronize the browser with their Google account.
Four months before that lawsuit, Google had agreed to destroy billions of records of data to settle a lawsuit alleging that it was tracking people who thought they were surfing the web in private, including Chrome browsers that were placed in famous mode.
The law firms representing the plaintiffs in that lawsuit have valued the deal at more than $5 billion. They also represent the plaintiff in the current lawsuit.
