A U.S. judge has denied Google’s attempt to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges the company violated the privacy of millions of individuals by covertly tracking their online activities.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Google could not demonstrate users’ explicit consent to the collection of their online browsing data, as the company never explicitly informed them about this practice.
The complainants assert that Google’s employment of analytics, cookies, and applications allowed the tech giant to monitor their online actions even when they utilised Google Chrome’s “Incognito” mode or other browsers’ “private” browsing settings.
They contended that this enabled Google to amass knowledge about their social circles, interests, preferred foods, shopping tendencies, and even potentially sensitive online pursuits, culminating in an extensive and intricate reservoir of information that surpasses what George Orwell envisioned.
In a 36-page ruling, Judge Rogers highlighted the plaintiffs’ indication of a market for their personal data, pointing to a Google pilot initiative that remunerated users $3 daily in exchange for their browsing histories.
