**Google Will Pay $391.5 Million Over Location-Tracking Lawsuit**
**Key Points:**
– Google has agreed to pay $391.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company secretly tracked users’ locations even when they had disabled location tracking settings.
– The settlement, which was approved by a federal judge in California, requires Google to make changes to its location-tracking practices and to be more transparent about how it collects and uses location data.
– The lawsuit, which was filed in 2018, alleged that Google had violated California’s privacy laws by continuing to track users’ locations even after they had turned off location tracking on their devices.
– Google admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement, but it agreed to pay the $391.5 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit.
– The settlement is the latest in a series of legal challenges that Google has faced over its data collection practices.
**Background:**
In 2018, a group of Google users filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, alleging that Google had violated California’s privacy laws by continuing to track users’ locations even after they had turned off location tracking on their devices.
The lawsuit alleged that Google had used a variety of methods to track users’ locations, including cell tower data, Wi-Fi data, and GPS data.
Google initially denied the allegations, but it later admitted that it had continued to track users’ locations even after they had turned off location tracking.
**The Settlement:**
The settlement, which was approved by a federal judge in California on October 11, 2023, requires Google to pay $391.5 million to the plaintiffs.
The settlement also requires Google to make changes to its location-tracking practices and to be more transparent about how it collects and uses location data.
Specifically, Google has agreed to:
– Provide users with more control over their location data.
– Make it easier for users to turn off location tracking.
– Be more transparent about how it collects and uses location data.
The settlement is the latest in a series of legal challenges that Google has faced over its data collection practices.
In 2020, Google agreed to pay $170 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that it had illegally collected data from children on YouTube.
In 2021, Google agreed to pay $76 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that it had misled users about its data collection practices.
**Google’s Response:**
Google has admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement, but it has agreed to pay the $391.5 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit.
In a statement, Google said that it is .
