Google settles $5B lawsuit over tracking 'incognito mode' users
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Google has agreed to settle a massive $5 billion lawsuit that accused the embattled tech giant of improperly tracking the personal data of millions of people who used its Chrome browser’s incognito mode, lawyers said Thursday.
Lawyers from both sides said they had signed a binding term sheet as part of the mediation process and would submit the agreement for final approval by a federal judge in Oakland, Calif., no later than Feb. 24, 2024.
Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The plaintiffs had initially sought at least $5 billion in damages, alleging that Google was able to track users’ online activity through its analytics and other tools even when they thought they were browsing privately.
The suit accused Google of essentially creating an “unaccountable trove of information” that included innocuous items like shopping habits and hobbies to other “potentially embarrassing things” they viewed.
Google denied wrongdoing.
The proposed class-action suit was slated to head to trial on Feb. 5 if a settlement was not reached.
US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has now placed the trial on hold pending final review.
In August, Rogers denied a bid by Google to have the lawsuit dismissed.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys were seeking to recover least $5,000 in damages per user for the alleged violations of federal wiretapping and California privacy laws dating back to June 1, 2016.
Google did not immediately return The Post’s request for comment.
Google still faces a number of pending legal battles, including several antitrust cases targeting various parts of its sprawling business empire.
In January, US District Judge James Donato will hold hearings on potential remedies after a federal jury determined that Google had maintained an illegal monopoly through its Android app store and its closely linked in-app billing system.
Donato could order Google to change business practices or even break up part of its business.
Separately, Google reached a $700 million settlement with all 50 US states in a related case.
The tech giant also agreed to change some of its business practices in the app store as part of the deal, though critics have argued it is a weak outcome.
Google is also awaiting a ruling in the Justice Department’s landmark antitrust case of its online search business.
Judge Amit Mehta is expected to decide whether the tech giant is a monopoly in mid-2024.
With Post wires
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