Google agrees to pay $68 million to settle class-action lawsuit alleging Google Assistant spied on smartphone users and recorded conversations
Have you ever thought that someone is eavesdropping on you? mobile phone? Or a laptop? No BIA, but some unfathomable spy force.
For example, you hear from someone for the first time in your life about a brand of suitcases, and by the way, you are not interested in suitcases at all, and then, not long after, out of the blue on Facebook, you start being bombarded with advertisements for that particular suitcase. So, you didn’t browse sites, you didn’t like anything, but someone in the same room said something.
Or you went to the store of a certain manufacturer, and an hour or two later there it is, for the first time, on your Instagram profile. Then remember that you didn’t turn off your geolocation, because really, if you have nothing to hide, why would you turn off that option.
Settlement for $68 million
In light of this, the company Google agreed to pay $68 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging Google Assistant spied on smartphone users and recorded conversations, violating their privacy.
The preliminary settlement was filed in federal court in San Jose, California, and must now be approved by Judge Beth Labson Freeman, CNBC reports.
Smartphone users have accused Google of illegally recording and distributing private conversations to advertisers in order to send them targeted ads. Google denied the allegations in the lawsuit, but agreed to the settlement anyway to avoid the risk, expense and uncertainty of litigation.
If the court accepts the settlement, compensation would be given to the owners of the Google company’s devices as of May 18, 2016, with the plaintiffs’ lawyers having the right to seek up to one-third of the settlement fund, which is about $22 million, in court costs.
Apple reached a similar $95 million settlement with smartphone users in December 2024.
Source: FoNet, Vreme
