In a landmark settlement, Google has agreed to delete billions of internet browsing records to end a class-action lawsuit filed by users who claimed the company did not respect their anonymity orders. The terms of the settlement were filed in federal court in Oakland, California, and are awaiting approval from Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. The estimated value of the settlement is between five billion and 7.8 billion dollars.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of millions of Google users who had been using the ‘anonymous’ internet browsing option since June 1, 2016. Prosecutors alleged that Google’s parent company Alphabet had been able to monitor the activity of users who chose the ‘anonymous’ variant of browser operation, including Google’s Chrome. As part of the settlement, Google has agreed to update the information on the data it collects during private browsing and, in the next five years, will enable users of the ‘anonymous’ browsing option to block data collection from other companies.
Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda expressed satisfaction with the amicable settlement of the lawsuit, even though they considered it unfounded from the start. Google stated that they do not associate data with users when they are in incognito mode and will delete old technical data that was not linked to individual users or used for personalization. The plaintiffs’ lawyers believe that this agreement will result in Google collecting less data from users’ private browsing and making less money from that data.
