Google to Pay $40 Million to WA State over Tracking Lawsuit

The lawsuit, filed in January of 2022, claimed Google used deceptive practices when it came to location services.

Lawsuit will bring in just over $39 million to state

Last January, WA State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming they were deceiving consumers. According to the AG's office:

"Attorney General Bob Ferguson will file a lawsuit today against technology giant Google for deceptively leading consumers to believe that they have control over how their location data is collected and used by Google. In reality, consumers cannot effectively prevent Google from collecting, storing and profiting from their location data."

Now, this week, Ferguson announced Google will pay a large fine, and put into practice new procedures to eliminate the confusion.

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The lawsuit was part of a multi-state effort to counter practices by the tech giant. According to Ferguson, the lawsuit settlement also demands:

*" Show additional information to users whenever they enable a location-related account setting by describing the sources, purposes and retention of relevant location data;
* Ensure users see information about location tracking; and
* Give users detailed information at an enhanced “Location Technologies” webpage about the types of location data Google collects and how it will use that data."

The AG's office says the money will be used to continue enforcement of the Consumer Protection Act in WA state and possible further actions to protect the privacy of WA residents (Geekwire).