2y ago

Google settles $5 billion privacy lawsuit over tracking people using 'incognito mode'

apnews.com

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Mazdak @lemmy.org

2y ago

Google settles $5 billion privacy lawsuit over tracking people using 'incognito mode'

apnews.com /article/google-incognito-mode-tracking-lawsuit-settlement-8b30c9397f678bc4c546ab84191f7a9d

10 comments

And not a single penny will be paid to affected parties.
- With an annual revenue of $282.8 BILLION dollars, this fine isn't even a drop in a bucket for them. They'll write it off and keep up with the same behavior.
When do I get my cut?
- Right? I want my 65¢
This is the best summary I could come up with:
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google has agreed to settle a $5 billion privacy lawsuit alleging that it spied on people who used the “incognito” mode in its Chrome browser — along with similar “private” modes in other browsers — to track their internet use.
The class-action lawsuit filed in 2020 said Google misled users into believing that it wouldn’t track their internet activities while using incognito mode.
It argued that Google’s advertising technologies and other techniques continued to catalog details of users’ site visits and activities despite their use of supposedly “private” browsing.
Plaintiffs also charged that Google’s activities yielded an “unaccountable trove of information” about users who thought they’d taken steps to protect their privacy.
Terms weren’t disclosed, but the suit originally sought $5 billion on behalf of users; lawyers for the plaintiffs said they expect to present the court with a final settlement agreement by Feb. 24.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the settlement.
The original article contains 174 words, the summary contains 162 words. Saved 7%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
So, I assume this lawsuit happened because people still don't have a clue as to what incognito mode actually is?
Don't get me wrong here, it's a misleading name that should be accompanied by some explanation for the user, so... Does Chrome not inform you about what incognito mode does?
- It probably does, but users would have to click through to an information page. Mostly people seemed to be using it based on misinformed recommendations from others.
  Also got the impression that most believed the sites they were using via Incognito mode could not recognise them unless they logged in. Similar features on other browsers had similarly misleading names.
  "session mode" might be a less misleading term, but it isn't nearly so snappy.
Google would happily pay twice that to stay away from sanctions.
"How much do you want to let us keep stealing information and spying on people? We'll pay it."
What is Google doing different now? Has it made Android fully free software?
As it is true that very little of settlements or awards like this will be paid out to affected users, I'd like to see legislation amended so that a large percentage of the sum has to be used for major privacy education campaigns, pushed online & through every other media, created and overseen by robust privacy organisations.
In a case like this, I'd want to compel Google to target users of Incognito Mode with privacy education material - again created & overseen by privacy orgs.
Last thing Google wants is to be compelled to show slick, unskippable privacy education clips on every Youtube video.

10 comments