Current:Home > FinanceGoogle to destroy billions of data records to settle "incognito" lawsuit -CapitalSource
Google to destroy billions of data records to settle "incognito" lawsuit
View
Date:2025-04-17 10:33:03
Google will destroy a vast trove of data as part of a settlement over a lawsuit that accused the search giant of tracking consumers even when they were browsing the web using "incognito" mode, which ostensibly keeps people's online activity private.
The details of the settlement were disclosed Monday in San Francisco federal court, with a legal filing noting that Google will "delete and/or remediate billions of data records that reflect class members' private browsing activities."
The value of the settlement is more than $5 billion, according to Monday's filing.
The settlement stems from a 2020 lawsuit that claimed Google misled users into believing that it wouldn't track their internet activities while they used incognito. The settlement also requires Google to change incognito mode so that users for the next five years can block third-party cookies by default.
"This settlement is an historic step in requiring dominant technology companies to be honest in their representations to users about how the companies collect and employ user data, and to delete and remediate data collected," the settlement filing states.
Although Google agreed to the initial settlement in December, Monday's filing provides more details about the agreement between the tech giant and the plaintiffs, consumers represented by attorney David Boies of Boies Schiller Flexner and other lawyers.
Neither Google nor Boies Schiller Flexner immediately replied to a request for comment.
"This settlement ensures real accountability and transparency from the world's largest data collector and marks an important step toward improving and upholding our right to privacy on the Internet," the court document noted.
—With reporting by the Associated Press.
- In:
Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.
TwitterveryGood! (747)
Related
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Mom of Israeli-American soldier killed in Hamas terror attack: You will live on forever in my heart.
- Social Security benefits will increase by 3.2% in 2024 as inflation moderates
- Chris Rock likely to direct Martin Luther King Jr. biopic and produce alongside Steven Spielberg
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- Kentucky man, 96, tried to kill 90-year-old wife who has dementia, police say
- Joe Jonas Posts Note on Doing the Right Thing After Sophie Turner Agreement
- Exclusive: Cable blackout over 24 hours? How an FCC proposal could get you a refund.
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- RHOC's Shannon Beador Slammed Rumors About Her Drinking 10 Days Before DUI Arrest
Ranking
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- New York Powerball players claim $1 million prizes from drawings this summer
- IOC suspends Russian Olympic Committee for incorporating Ukrainian sports regions
- COVID relief funds spark effort that frees man convicted of 1997 murder in Oklahoma he says he didn't commit
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone pleads guilty to fraud
- John Cena's Super-Private Road to Marrying Shay Shariatzadeh
- Jeannie Mai Shares Message About Healing After Jeezy Divorce Filing
Recommendation
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
New York Powerball players claim $1 million prizes from drawings this summer
Adele's Boyfriend Rich Paul Has the Perfect Advice for Travis Kelce Amid Rumored Taylor Swift Romance
Peter Thomas Roth Flash Deal: Get $156 Worth of Retinol for $69 and Reduce Wrinkles Overnight
Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
UN suspends and detains 8 peacekeepers in Congo over allegations of sexual exploitation
Mexico celebrates an ex-military official once arrested on drug smuggling charges in the US
7th person charged after South Korean woman’s body found in trunk near Atlanta