Google ordered to pay $425 million in app data collection lawsuit

Google has been ordered to pay $425 million to the plaintiffs of a class-action lawsuit that accused the company of collecting users' data even after they had turned off a tracking feature. The lawsuit, certified as a class action involving 98 million Google users and 174 million devices, alleged that Google continued to harvest data despite telling users they could disable tracking through its "Web & App Activity" feature. While the jury found Google liable on two of the three privacy violation claims, it did not find the company acted out of malice, and therefore, no punitive damages were awarded. Google plans to appeal the decision, arguing that its privacy tools give users control over their data and that it honors their choice to turn off personalization. The company has faced several similar privacy lawsuits in the past, including a $5 billion settlement in 2023 over tracking users in Incognito mode.