Google settles 2 more location tracking lawsuits worth $29.5 mn in US

SAN FRANCISCO: Google has settled two more location tracking lawsuits worth $29.5 million filed in Washington, DC and Indiana states in the US.

The search giant is required to pay $9.5 million to Washington, DC and $20 million to Indiana after the states sued the tech giant for allegedly tracking users' locations without their consent.

The $29.5 million settlement adds to the $391.5 million Google agreed to pay to 40 states over similar allegations last month.

"My office reached a settlement with Google requiring the company to pay $9.5 million for deceiving and manipulating consumers - including by using "dark patterns" to trick users and gain access to their location data," tweeted DC Attorney General Karl Racine.

"We sued because Google made it nearly impossible for users to stop their location from being tracked. Now, thanks to this settlement, Google must also make clear to consumers how their location data is collected, stored, and used," Racine added.

Last month, Google agreed to pay a historic $391.5 million in settlement to 40 states in the US over allegations that the tech giant tracked users' location data without their consent in the country.

The settlement with Google over its location tracking practices, led by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and Nebraska AG Doug Peterson, was the largest attorney general-led consumer privacy settlement ever.

In addition to the multimillion-dollar settlement, as part of the negotiations with the AGs, Google has agreed to significantly improve its location tracking disclosures and user controls starting in 2023.

In a blog post, Google said the lawsuit is based on "outdated product policies" that the company has already addressed.

Google said it will also start providing more "detailed" information about the data it collects tracking during the account setup process and is launching a new toggle to turn off and delete your location history and web and app activity "in one simple flow."