Google is facing a class-action lawsuit for $5 billion for allegedly monitoring user activity while using its services, even when apps claim to be working on incognito mode.
A complaint made in the State of California seeks that Google pays $5 billion in damages to users for collecting data even when it supposedly should not be monitored. According to the complaint, services such as Google Ad Manager, Analytics, and the like, continue to collect users browsing data, which goes against the fundamental principle of the “incognito” function available in the Google Chrome browser on computers and smartphones.
The information collected by the company includes sensitive data about users’ searches in incognito mode, as well as shopping habits, people related to the user, and much more.
This lawsuit is based on California privacy laws and, according to attorneys, Google would be breaking federal wiretapping rules.
(We obtained a copy of the lawsuit for you here.)
2020 has not been a great year for Google. The company is also likely to face a lawsuit by the Justice Department for monopolizing digital services through its advertising dominance.
Regarding the new privacy lawsuit, a Google spokesperson indicated that this does not make sense because users are previously informed about these practices, so they will defend themselves to the end in court.
Google Chrome’s incognito mode is used so that the browser does not store information in its search history or cache. Jose Castaneda, the company’s spokesperson, recalled that the main window that is displayed when starting a session in incognito mode specifies that websites can continue to collect information and that users’ actions will not be totally invisible to the internet providers and other intermediary companies.
Many users expressed support for the lawsuit via Twitter.
One of them was the renowned Google critic Dr. Robert Epstein who proved to be happy because users are slowly realizing that incognito mode is a sham.
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