Google settles lawsuits in Washington DC, Indiana totaling $29.5 million

Google has settled two privacy lawsuits, one filed by Washington DC and the other by Indiana, for $9.5 million and $20 million, respectively, over its location-based practices, according to reports from Engadget and the Associated Press on Friday. The search giant has agreed to make it easier to turn off location tracking.

The costumes, filed by state attorneys general in January, alleged that Google made it “almost impossible” to completely disable location tracking. DC Attorney General Karl Racine said Google violated the Consumer Protection Procedures Act by continuing to track user data so it could continue to make money from users. While Google has agreed to pay $391.5 million to a coalition of states in November, Indiana branched off and launched its own separate lawsuit. That split got Indiana double the money, according to a press release from the Indiana attorney general’s office.

“This data may be used to infer personal details such as political or religious affiliation, income, health status or participation in support groups – as well as major life events such as marriage and the birth of children,” according to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. .

While Root tweeted about the settlementhis office did not issue a press release.

Google and the DC Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It’s been an expensive year for Google as he had to settle a multitude of government lawsuits. Of Fine of 365 million dollars in Russia has a Fine of 157 million dollars in France, Google is not immune to government scrutiny. The scope of the fines vary, with the lawsuit in France focusing on tracking users, while the lawsuit in Russia slammed Google for failing to remove banned content around the war in Ukraine.

In India, Google, which also owns the Android mobile operating system, was fined $113 million by the country’s Competition Commission to promote its own applications on Android. Given Google’s reach as the maker of the world’s most popular search engine, web browser and mobile phone operating system, it will remain an important target for regulators.

Google has agreed to maintain a webpage where it will detail its location tracking policies and practices and show people how their location data will be used. The company also cannot share a person’s precise location with third-party advertisers without the person’s express consent and must delete that data within 30 days.