Hawaii and 39 other states have reached a $391.5 million settlement with Google over its location-tracking practices, the state Office of Consumer Protection announced on Monday.
What You Need To Know
Google uses personal and behavioral data it collects from users — including sensitive location data, which can expose a person’s identity and routines and infer personal details — to build detailed profiles and target ads on behalf of its advertising customers
A 2018 Associated Press article revealed Google recorded user movements even when explicitly directed not to via its Google Account settings
When a customer sets up a Google account, the default setting for “Location History” is “off,” but “Web & App Activity” is automatically on
As part of the settlement, Google will be limited in its use and storage of certain types of location information and must make its account controls more user-friendly
This is the largest multi-state privacy settlement in U.S. history, according to the OCP.
Hawaii will receive $4,705,227 as its share of the settlement.
