Google Sued For Deceptive Android Location Tracking

Google has been accused of misleading the collection of location data on Android smartphones. A new lawsuit has been filed by four Attorney Generals of three states and the District of Columbia. The lawsuit alleged that Google is sharing the location of its users despite switching off the location sharing. Further, it alleges that Google has misled the consumers about how their location is being monitored and how it is used by the company. It is also alleged to deceive the consumer's ability to stop the tracking and safeguard their privacy.

“Google falsely led consumers to believe that changing their account and device settings would allow customers to protect their privacy and control what personal data the company could access. The truth is that contrary to Google’s representations it continues to systematically surveil customers and profit from customer data.”, said DC Attorney General Karl Racine in a statement.

The suit also accuses Google of violating DC’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act. Attorneys general from Texas, Washington, and Indiana are also following the same path by filing similar suits in their respective jurisdictions.

The DC suit also pointed heavily on an Associated Press report that found that “many Google services on Android devices and iPhones store your location data even if you’ve used a privacy setting that says it will prevent Google from doing so.”

Responding to the lawsuit, Google policy spokesperson José Castañeda told The Verge, “The attorneys general are bringing a case based on inaccurate claims and outdated assertions about our settings. We have always built privacy features into our products and provided robust controls for location data.”