California hits Google for $93M over deceptive location data options
A lawsuit filed against Google by California’s Attorney General over the company’s deceptive and misleading options for managing location data has resulted in a $93 million settlement — and new protections for consumers in the state. As detailed in an incredibly straightforward complaint, Google in several ways appeared to promise users that they could choose whether or how much location data was used in order to target them for advertisements. Location History is one of several detailed records Google keeps of your activity — you can turn it off here if you haven’t already. This particular setting is off by default, but users were repeatedly told they should “enhance” their Google Maps experience, with the responses “Yes, I’m in” or “Skip for now.” Little did they know agreeing would turn on Location History for purposes far beyond “enhancing” Maps. If you kept your Location History off, though, Google assured you that “the places you go to are no longer stored.” This was totally false, as reported in 2018. They still record the places you go, …
