Recently, it was found that despite users switching off location history on their Android smartphones, Google was storing some location data of users on their servers. This isn’t the first time they’ve been questioned over similar practices, though it doesn’t appear anything came of it that time. Previously, the company said “You can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored.” This turned out not to be true, as the company still saved information from the likes of Google Maps. Now they may be facing a class-action lawsuit in the US according to a report.
As a result of the previously unknown practice, which was first exposed by the Associated Press last week, Google has now been sued by a man in San Diego. Simultaneously, activists in Washington, DC are urging the Federal Trade Commission to examine whether the company is in breach of its 2011 consent decree with the agency..
The lawsuit seeks class-action status, and it would include both an "Android Class" and "iPhone Class" for the potential millions of people in the United States with such phones who turned off their Location History and nonetheless had it recorded by Google. It will likely take months or longer for the judge to determine whether there is a sufficient class.
In that settlement, Google agreed that it would not misrepresent anything related to "(1) the purposes for which it collects and uses covered information, and (2) the extent to which consumers may exercise control over the collection, use, or disclosure of covered information."
Until the Associated Press story on August 13, Google's policy simply stated: "You can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored."
No comments:
Post a Comment