Google's Privacy Sandbox project has been touted as the end of tracking cookies and creepy cross-site following, but it is facing regulatory trouble as the UK ICO has expressed concerns about a collection of "loopholes" that could be used to personally identify and track internet users.
The settlement would impact all Incognito Mode data collected from June 1, 2016 to before the start of 2024. Google says that it would delete most of this browsing data, but in some cases would "de-identify" records instead.
The privacy lawsuit dates all the way back to 2018, when Google internally discovered that the Google+ API was being abused. The privacy lawsuit has now been settled for $350 million, after a lengthy appeals process played out.
The Google privacy lawsuit was first filed in 2020, and had been scheduled to go before the District Court on February 5. It is now on pause as the lawyers prepare a binding term sheet. Claimants are seeking a total of at least $5 billion.
Senator Ron Wyden says both Apple and Google are complying with foreign government requests for data from push notifications which can facilitate government surveillance by disclosing apps that the user has installed, the Google or Apple account they use with the phone, and potentially even the text displayed in the notification (if it is not encrypted).
Google is making passkeys the default sign-in option across its services for all users. User feedback found that at least 64% of users said passkeys were easier to use than passwords or two-factor authentication.
The California location tracking issue dates back to 2018. Over 40 states have already reached similar privacy settlements with the tech giant, with Google having now paid over $600 million in total.
Two Dutch consumer groups, the Privacy Protection Foundation and Consumentenbond, have filed suit against Google over its targeted advertising auctions. The suit is seeking the equivalent of $804 for each Google user harmed by its "constant surveillance" and sharing of personal data.
GDPR complaint points out that Fitbit forces EU users to accept international data transfers as a requirement to use the service, something that may not meet regulatory standards for free and informed consent.
Google's bid to get rid of a class action lawsuit involving its "Incognito Mode" took a serious blow in a California court, as a judge denied the company's request for a summary judgment and said that the consumer privacy concerns raised by the company's data handling were fit for trial.