Google Fails To End $5 Billion Consumer Privacy Lawsuit - Slashdot
source link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/23/08/08/1735223/google-fails-to-end-5-billion-consumer-privacy-lawsuit
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Google Fails To End $5 Billion Consumer Privacy Lawsuit
Google Fails To End $5 Billion Consumer Privacy Lawsuit (reuters.com) 20
Posted by msmash
on Tuesday August 08, 2023 @01:35PM from the tussle-continues dept.A U.S. judge rejected Google's bid to dismiss a lawsuit claiming it invaded the privacy of millions of people by secretly tracking their internet use. From a report: U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on Monday said she could not find that users consented to letting Google collect information about what they viewed online because the Alphabet unit never explicitly told them it would. David Boies, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the proposed $5 billion class action, called the decision "an important step in protecting the privacy interests of millions of Americans." The plaintiffs alleged that Google's analytics, cookies and apps let the Mountain View, California-based company track their activity even when they set Google's Chrome browser to "Incognito" mode and other browsers to "private" browsing mode. They said this let Google learn enough about their friends, hobbies, favorite foods, shopping habits, and "potentially embarrassing things" they seek out online, becoming "an unaccountable trove of information so detailed and expansive that George Orwell could never have dreamed it."
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This is always the case with class actions and because the attorney cut is so large they settle for sums that provide nothing meaningful to the actual victims.
But this could still make a difference if they require the data to be destroyed and bar future collection as conditions of the agreement. Even if they get what they ask for, $5 billion is just a cost of doing business and a bargain if it allows Google to wipe the slate of all liability to the entire class of victim.
Spin this around, what aspects of the plaintiff's digital lifestyles, lead them to trust or know their information is being handled in a safe and secure manner? Has Google promised they wouldn't look, listen, scan, read, and consume the information being offered freely?
If Google
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Your analogy ignores the fact that Google stalked people even when they used incognito mode and other privacy tools. It is more like your neighbor recording your activity in your house through gaps in your closed curtains.
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Not really, incognito mode would be moving inside but standing in front of the open window, sure you've gone inside, but you've done little to improve your privacy posture. Install "DuckDuckGo", "Privacy Possum", "Privacy Badger", use a containerized OS like Qubes, and avoid any Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, or other invasive service / tool / OS / app or software, and then if you still get tracked, you might have a case.
The fact you're using Chrome, or GMail, Google Drive, Google Maps, even Andro-
This is not a reasonable argument in my opinion because it assumes capabilities on behalf of the users of Google's services that aren't true. One could establish that using SSL/HTTPS browsing for private/secure things provides a user with a reasonable assurance their information is not being used/stored/whatever by the operator of the platform. I don't think most people have any idea that this is going on to this extent - hence "reasonable". I could be wrong but my estimation of the average human's ability
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You make a very good point, TLS or HTTPS (HTTP over TLS), is often just asserted baselessly, to be some all star security "all-in-one". It is shocking how frequently I have to explain that TLS does nothing to secure data, and I have to explain this to people in IT, Development, and technology in general. The fundamental problem is we've allowed tracking to become common place, it's expected for Microsoft, or Google to track you, and we don't mandate an opt-in approach.
Imagine a world where software has
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yes, the people did, as it says in the summary, "The plaintiffs alleged that Google's analytics, cookies and apps let the Mountain View, California-based company track their activity even when they set Google's Chrome browser to "Incognito" mode and other browsers to "private" browsing mode. They said this let Google learn enough about their friends, hobbies, favorite foods, shopping habits, and "potentially embarrassing things" they seek out online, becoming "an unaccountable trove of information so detail
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"Google's Chrome browser to "Incognito" mode and other browsers to "private" browsing mode", at what point did anyone think that changing browser settings and going "incognito" was going to stop the digital molestation? If they took reasonable steps, a few things would be true:
1. They would have privacy respecting extensions installed such as DuckDuckGo, Privacy Possum, Privacy Badger.
2. They would avoid all Google Services, Tools, Applications, and Software.
3. They would run a privacy respecting OS-
This is simple. Google is a private company, not a public space. So your analogy makes no sense. Google failed to provide notice to the customer that covered their collection and sale of data in the manner described in the suit. So the customer never gave Google permission to do so.
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As alleged in the lawsuit from my understanding.
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Okay, so does Walmart, Food Land, or any other "private" company disclose how much data they collect from you, who they partner with, and what your data is used for? Does Microsoft put disclaimers all over Windows that it's basically shareware infected with ad ware that collects your data nonstop? Why is Google the sole company who is getting pointed out as having done something that almost every other company, private, public, or even government is guilty of?
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Whataboutism is not an argument.
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