A California jury has ordered Google to pay $314.6 million after finding the tech giant guilty of improperly collecting user data from Android phones without user consent. The class-action lawsuit, filed in 2019, involved roughly 14 million residents of California.
The plaintiffs alleged that Google was gathering data from users even when their phones were idle, using it for activities such as targeted advertising. This not only raised privacy concerns but also meant users were unknowingly consuming their mobile data.
Despite the ruling, Google has announced plans to appeal the verdict. A company spokesperson claimed that the decision misinterprets core services essential to Android’s functionality and that users had already agreed to data collection via Google’s privacy policies and terms of service. Google also emphasized that no harm had been proven.
Due to the appeal, the fine won’t be paid until the legal process concludes, and affected users won’t see any compensation in the near term. This legal battle may continue for months or even years.
This case isn’t isolated. A similar lawsuit is pending in San Jose, where Android users from the other 49 U.S. states are pursuing claims against Google. That trial is expected to begin in April of next year.
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