Google has agreed to a preliminary $135 million settlement in a class action lawsuit brought by Android users who accused it of harvesting their data without consent. The suit alleged that since November 12, 2017, Google has been illegally collecting cellular data from phones purchased through carriers, even when apps were closed or location features were disabled.
As reported by , the affected users believed Google using their data for marketing and product development meant it was guilty of “conversion.” In US law, occurs when one party takes the property of another with “the intent to deprive them of it” or “exert property rights over it.”
Subject to approval from a judge, a settlement of $135 million was filed in a San Jose federal court earlier this week. The payout would be one of, if not the largest ever in a case of this nature, according to Glen Summers, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.
Each user involved in the lawsuit would be entitled to up to $100 from Google, which denies any wrongdoing and has agreed to seek consent during the setup process of a new phone from now on. A toggle will be added to enable users to easily disable data transfer, while the Alphabet-owned company will also adjust its terms of service accordingly. A trial is scheduled for August 5.
This is the second settlement this week for Google. On January 26, the company also to a $68 million settlement regarding claims that Google Assistant had been spying on users after being triggered by what it had misheard as wake words. Again, Google denied any wrongdoing in the class action suit.
