Alphabet’s Google has agreed to settle a lawsuit accusing it of unannounced access to the internet use of millions of people who thought they were browsing secretly.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of a district court in California postponed a hearing scheduled for the fifth of February 2024 to consider a proposed class action, after Google and consumer lawyers said they had reached a preliminary settlement.
According to” Reuters”, the lawsuit demanded at least five billion dollars. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but the lawyers said that they agreed to a binding terms sheet through mediation, and expect to submit a formal settlement for court approval by February 24, 2024.
Neither Google nor the consumer lawyers filing the lawsuit immediately responded to requests for comment.
The plaintiffs said that Google’s analytics, cookies and applications allowed it to track their activity even when they activate the “incognito” feature on the Google Chrome browser or activate the “Private” Browsing mode on other browsers.
They said This allowed Google to see a treasure trove of their information by learning about their friends, hobbies, favorite foods, shopping habits and”potentially embarrassing things” they search for online.
