Google to pay $85 million to settle claims it deceptively tracked users

The suit turned on Google allowing people to select the option to not have their locations tracked, but then following their activity in cyberspace in other ways, the suit said.

“While Google users are led to believe they can opt-out of location tracking, the company exploits other avenues to invade personal privacy,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a statement. “It’s nearly impossible to stop Google from tracking your movements without your knowledge or consent.”

“This case is based on outdated product policies that we changed years ago,” Google Spokesperson José Castañeda wrote in an emailed statement. “We provide straightforward controls and auto delete options for location data, and are always working to minimize the data we collect. We are pleased to have this matter resolved and will continue to focus our attention on providing useful products for our users.”

Advertising revenue is the financial engine behind Google’s search engine, generating $135 billion of the company’s $161 billion in 2019 revenue. Tracking location data or web activity can be a gold mine for digital advertising when targeting ads to consumers at just the right time and place, and to help build a profile of a person.