Google to pay $391.5 million to US authorities for illegal location tracking

Google will have to pay US authorities $ 391.5 million as part of the settlement of an investigation into illegal surveillance of users, reports Reuters. The agreement, signed with the authorities of 40 states at once, became the largest agreement in the history of the United States on the settlement of a claim between business and the authorities.

The investigation was inspired by an Associated Press article released in 2018. It claimed that Google did not stop collecting people’s geolocation data, even if they turned off “location history.” The investigation confirmed the fact of systematic violations of US law by the corporation since at least 2014.

In addition to paying a fine, the company also committed to a more transparent policy for collecting user location data. Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said that the corporation went to settle the case “regarding an outdated policy”, which she abandoned a few years ago. At the same time, the company said in its blogthat “it will be making updates in the coming months to provide even more control and visibility into location data.”

Valeria Khaibullina