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Google, owned by Alphabet, settled a lawsuit alleging the secret tracking of internet use of millions of users who were led to believe their browsing was private.
If a web browser tells you you’re “incognito” and can “browse privately,” you might assume your online activities are private and no one is collecting your data. But you’d be wrong. It’s precisely this that landed Google in a $5 billion lawsuit concerning privacy washing.
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Privacy washing is Google’s attempt to portray its services as private, even as it sweeps vast amounts of your personal data into its profitable advertising engine. It may work for marketing, but it doesn’t work in the courts. When Google’s notion of privacy conflicts with legal principles, Google consistently loses, Proton’s Ben Wolford said.
In 2023, Google introduced a new “ad privacy feature” for Chrome and expanded the release of the beta version of Ad Topics for Android, both part of its misleadingly named Privacy Sandbox initiative. Both initiatives disguised a move to give itself total monopolistic control over the ability to spy on user activity as a “privacy feature.”
Many years before, in December 2008, Google launched Incognito Mode, a privacy option for Chrome. Chrome is the hands-down favourite web browser and with over 3 billion users globally, the product is a window into human browsing activities.
In 2020, a group of five plaintiffs sued Google with multiple allegations, including violations of the federal wiretapping law, California privacy laws, breach of contract, and other counts. Seeking “at least” $5 billion in damages, they said Google promised not to collect their data while in Incognito Mode but did so anyway. The lawsuit covered millions of Google users since 1 June 2016. It sought at least $5,000 in damages per user.
Google requested a federal judge in California to dismiss the case. A Google spokesperson told The Verge that the company argued that Incognito Mode informs users that websites can still track them whenever they open a private tab.
Instead, the judge paved the way for the case to go to trial, where Google’s attempts to redefine the meaning of privacy would have to once again face reality.
In her August 2023 ruling, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California demonstrated that she believed when people activated a feature explicitly named “incognito,” they were relying on the common sense meaning of words to assert an expectation of privacy. “It’s a direct rebuke of privacy washing,” Wolford explained.
The judge scheduled a trial for 5 February 2024.
On 28 December, the trial for the proposed class action was put on hold after lawyers for Google and lawyers for consumers said they had reached a preliminary settlement. Settlement terms have not been disclosed and the lawyers said they expected to present a formal settlement for court approval by 24 February 2024.
Considering the amount of data Google still collects from you, even in Incognito Mode, it’s fair to question what Google thinks the word privacy means. “Google is still the dominant tech company, but its business model is on borrowed time, and they seem to know it,” Wolford wrote.
The only way to prevent Google from having a monopoly on your personal data is to leave Google. That’s because even if you turn off personal advertisements (“ad”) and block ad tracking, Google will still have access to all your data in Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Drive, Google Photos and more.
Google Chrome isn’t the only browser with a misleading “private mode” feature. Safari, Firefox and others offer similar options.
Sources for this article include:
- Google brings privacy washing to Android, Proton Blog, 21 December 2023
- The ‘Incognito Mode’ lawsuit is another legal blow to Google’s privacy-washing tactics, Proton Blog, 30 October 2023
- Google settles $5 billion consumer privacy lawsuit, Reuters, 29 December 2023
Featured image: Google Settles $5 Billion Consumer Privacy Suit Over Chrome’s Incognito Mode, CNet, 29 December 2023
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Categories: Breaking News, World News
Browsing history should be absolutely private and I’m glad there was a penalty for tracking people.
It’s like a camera in the shower or the crapper. It’s only for marketing/advertising and money issues. Or is it more sinister?
I detest Google. I avoid them at all costs. Their ploy since inception has been internet takeover and control, the Kim Jung Un of the digital world. Despicable corporation and unsurprising lead contributors at the pinnacle of human immorality comprising the overvalued and under-qualified, the WEF. The digital age allowed for some real jerks in life to rise to monumental levels of status, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, many others. All immoral whore houses of demonic self interest and global corruption. It’s weird how the digital age changed us, is it not? Used to be a police officer needed a court order to wire tap a phone, now despicables record our conversations by the second, film and photograph us in our own homes without the bat of an eyelid, and we accept this. The price for our technology, is this? For all the ‘progress’ this age has brought us, take me back to the days prior before the computer chip was invented and governmental corruption was limited and not chained to the desires of psychopaths with way too much money and way too few firing brain cells imagining they are something greater in nature than the rest of mankind for no other reason than their ability to selfishly corrupt.
Just as you write ‘without the bat of an eyelid’ to the corruption of our governments no one bats an eye! That people are living in tents ‘Oh well…’… That some have been barred from work for making a decision not to get a shot… ‘Oh there’s never been such an event in our lifetime so we need to listen to the experts…’ without the bat of an eye. Being in a room at a gathering & never, but ever talking about ‘it’ & not realizing you’ve been gagged without the bat of an eye…
Talk about limited hangout stuff Watcher Seeker, you, John etc, very likely even Lady Negretto etc.
Really doubt you convince anyone, you up vote your comments, while down voting ones with merit. Like me, you have a distinctive comment style, shame it’s such a malicious one.
And yes, i do mean they’re all you and your alter egos Watcher Seeker, however don’t know for sure if that’s your original id.
Highly likely it is, i can smell you a mile away.
Now i have this kind of understanding, what proves to me there’s a loving Creator/Designer, is the potential of our minds. It’s proven even the ability of ChatGPT4’s performance is dependent on human prompting, it can’t reach for infinity like the human mind can. As with all other AI, it’s only as good as its human programming.
Even in the evil, confusing times we live in, we clearly have infinite capacity for development. Circumstances often limit us but the capacity is innate and what makes this precious gift even more wondrous, is we all have our own way of expressing it.
Remember when the Scum suggested modern architecture is really as beautiful as previous architecture, just a few years ago? That hopium withered on the vine really quickly, they have nothing to offer and are less than cockroaches.
They got caught and should pay ALL it’s users big time. Soo? How much will that be?
My payout from the EXPERIAN data hack was $5.22. That took 5 years after I signed up.
I thought The Expose was going to end up yesterday, yet here you are in 2024 nevertheless. You are Penniless, yet here you are still writing and publishing articles, even though you are blocked from your financial means to do that – so what is the point of us funding you, when you can’t access the money which we send you – for 2024?
I ran a website for free and it cost me nothing but the time and when I hit Enter my one letter went out to thousands of readers, so in actual fact, it was the effort to put together one letter which was time consuming, nothing more – is it the same with you too?
Nice to see you back Rhonda – Good Holiday?
I didn’t know whether to upvote or downvote your comment, so I did neither.
BTW, Christine sounds a lot better without an N!
Re Lady N below: For the past 300,000 to 400,000 years we humans have been running around on this planet, we have all had the same Earth type DNA, but in the last 3 years that DNA has been changed by ModRNA into a different DNA, created in a Lab and not of this planet, Earth, anymore, so where do you think your Soul or Spirit is going to go, now that it has an alien DNA not of Earth – answer me that – you volunteers for ModRNA vaccines for Moderna’s Covid-19 virus patented 2013 #CTCCTCGGCGGGCACGTAG and the US Supreme Court’s Law with World Wide Applications 2013 which also rules that anyone whose DNA is changed by vaccine, (which is recorded as happening in 6 hours after ModRNA vaccination), is no longer Human and all Human Rights are lost, they are a new species “Trans Human” with zero rights of any kind.
They have also been implanted with a genetic MAC address which connects to an AI Computer somewhere, so when a vaccinated person calls anything misinformation, diisinformation, etc, how do we know that their thoughts were not put there by an AI computer by 5G, that spokesperson “not” having any Human Rights, by Human Law, “anymore”, to be able, legally, to have a “Not Human” opinion?
Me personally, if vaccinated, I would not be too keen to find out what happens after death, so long life everyone. Just Saying.
Maybe you should ask the person who wrote the Prescription for your Covid vaccine injection or injected you, after all they were paid between $50 and $150 from the vaccine maker of your choice to do that, so what was their motivation to inject you – I ask you – because the vaccine makers alone, could not do that by themselves, could they?
2024 is going to be a very interesting year, to see in Trump and Biden’s Great Reset by 2025, don’t you think?
anyone who thinks they can browse incognito on the web is gullible. one test : go incognito, search for shoes, and see how quickly your advertizements change to shoes.
Luckily I got a tip of how to omit advertizements !
[…] Go to Source Follow altnews.org on Telegram […]
But, wait, there’s more! They not only collect interest on money they created out of thin air, they also get the money itself, the so-called “principal”…!!!
They print the money at cost (cents for many many dollars) and then charge you and me interest on that money to use it! It’s a one-way system where ALL the value goes to them! They give us worthless bits of paper and we give them everything we can give them in return! We’re already slaves ….
Glad to say my subscription went through pretty easily this time Rhoda, apologies to you and the team for being late sending it.
Hi Demeter, please don’t apologise. Thank you for your donation, its much appreciated.
Tried a few times over the last 5 days Rhoda but as you know i use a vpn, different browsers with different security settings etc.
Also noticed things have really changed, what worked before doesn’t anymore on quite a lot of sites. Also my vpn now crashes once or twice a day, which is brand new and very worrying. Made a note of what i did to help this transaction work, let’s hope for next time.
If others have similar problems to me, recommend installing a torrent manager, they let you know what ip you’re connected to very quickly.
Frequently check with my torrent manger now, to see if issues are developing. Basically, if they don’t show the ip you expect within 4 seconds, disconnect from the net immediately, deep clean your rig and start again.
I suppose it might be a security risk to recommend a specific torrent manager in this format?
Thanks for the heads up. It’s led me down a very revealing rabbit hole. The good thing about going down rabbit holes is they all end up connecting into a really, really big space, where you can clearly see what’s actually going on!
You’re right, i wouldn’t feel comfortable mentioning the manager i use, you’re smart and understand why i wouldn’t feel comfortable. This article suggests what are probably among the best:
https://www.techradar.com/best/torrent-client
Thankfully, they have the refuse all option in their cookie request and are one of the sites i know respect your choice. Keep digging while you can Chris, sure such opportunities will be denied us very soon.
Hi Demeter, thank you for the information.
I’ve noticed more and more sites on the internet are not visible on search engines. It will have started a long time ago, but in 2023 it became noticeable and it seems to be slowly, bit by bit, getting worse.
Its as if those who run the internet not only want us to find only information they approve of, but also only information in selected geographical areas according to where we are based. The selection of sites returned in searches seems to be getting narrower and narrower. Have you found the same?
And the rest Rhoda, seems to me the restriction of our ability to search is on steroids now.
When you do find what you’re looking for don’t just bookmark it, make a copy of it, preferably a physical copy when possible.
Hi Demeter, re making copies. You’re right. We are getting to that stage. Let’s hope Google et al break themselves before they break the internet 🙂
[…] https://expose-news.com/2024/01/03/google-settles-privacy-washing-lawsuit/ […]
I want to know WHY a settlement was reached, as this does NOT solve the problem. The judge should NOT accept this. But, then I’m a bit idealistic, aren’t I?
[…] days of Google’s tech dominance are numbered as the search engine giant faces more litigation for secretly tracking Chrome web browser users […]
[…] days of Google’s tech dominance are numbered as the search engine giant faces more litigation for secretly tracking Chrome web browser users […]
[…] days of Google’s tech dominance are numbered as the search engine giant faces more litigation for secretly tracking Chrome web browser users […]