Google to delete anonymous browsing data to settle privacy lawsuit

(Patria) - Google has agreed to delete a vast amount of search data to settle a lawsuit alleging it tracked millions of U.S. users who thought they were browsing the internet privately, AFP reported.

If a judge approves the proposed settlement filed Monday in federal court in San Francisco, Google must "delete and/or remediate billions of data records" linked to people using Chrome's incognito mode, according to court documents.

"This settlement is a historic step in requiring dominant technology companies to be honest in their representations to users about how companies collect and use user data, and to delete and remediate collected data," said attorney David Boies in the filing.

A hearing is scheduled for July 30 before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who will decide whether to approve the agreement that would allow Google to avoid trial in the class-action lawsuit. The settlement does not require monetary damages but leaves open the possibility for Chrome users who believe they were wronged to sue Google separately for compensation. The lawsuit, originally filed in June 2020, sought at least $5 billion in damages.

"We are pleased to have resolved this lawsuit, which we always believed was meritless," said Google spokesperson Jorge Castaneda.

"We are happy to delete old technical data that was never associated with an individual and never used for any form of personalization," he added.

The subject of the lawsuit was Chrome's "Incognito Mode," which plaintiffs said gave users a false sense that Google was not tracking what they visited online. But internal Google emails presented in the lawsuit showed that users in incognito mode were tracked by large search and advertising systems for measuring web traffic and selling ads.

The lawsuit, filed in a California court, alleged that Google's practice violated users' privacy by intentionally misleading them with the incognito option. The original complaint stated that Google gained "the power to learn intimate details about individuals' lives, interests, and internet usage," adding that "Google has turned itself into an endless treasure trove of information so detailed and extensive that George Orwell could never have dreamed of it."

The settlement requires Google to block third-party tracking "cookies" by default in incognito mode for the next five years. Third-party cookies are small files used for targeted advertising by tracking web navigation and are set by visited sites, not the browser itself.

No cookies?

Earlier this year, Google began limiting third-party cookies for some users of its Chrome browser, a first step toward eventually phasing out the files that raise privacy concerns.

In January 2020, Google announced it would begin eliminating third-party cookies within two years, but the start was delayed several times due to opposition from web media publishers. Cookies have recently come under greater regulation, including the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation introduced in 2016, as well as regulations in California.