The market for location data is staggering, surpassing $12 billion annually. Yet, it's riddled with privacy pitfalls. Precise location is particularly concerning among the trove of personal data brokers collect.
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.
Washington is the latest state in which Google has settled a location tracking lawsuit, adding to a list that has cost it a little over half a billion dollars to date. Lawsuits date back to a 2018 probe that found Google apps and services were continuing to track and log data even after users had changed privacy settings.
Nearly every tech company with some sort of social platform is rushing to get their own AI chatbot in place. Snap users are expressing concern about how it interacts with children, the level of access it has to personal information, and overbearing chat interactions.
The case began with a probe opened by an assortment of state attorneys general in 2018 in response to consumer complaints. The investigation found that Google had been misleading about its use of location tracking dating back to at least 2014.
Google settles lawsuit accusing it of violating Arizona state's Consumer Fraud Act by continuing to collect user information for location tracking even after they had opted out, racking up massive profits in the process.
The coalition of states claims that settings that ostensibly turned off location tracking did not actually disable it fully, allowing Google to continue collecting user location data through other methods.
Facebook is now using device accelerometer data as an alternate means of pinpointing locations and following app users about their day. This happens even if users both opt out of targeted advertising and disable location tracking within the Facebook app.
A controversial SDK used for location tracking remains present in hundreds of Android apps, in spite of bans. Data broker X-Mode's tracking software was forbidden from use in the world's two major app stores in 2020.
In a letter to the European Commission, Bluetooth accessory maker Tile accused Apple of trying to disadvantage their location tracking app by defaulting ‘always allow’ function to ‘off’.
