Tech Giant Google Agrees to Compensate US Users with $425 Million
Google has announced its intention to appeal a recent verdict in a class action lawsuit filed by US users over privacy violations. The lawsuit, which was tried in San Francisco in 2021, found Google guilty of collecting user data despite having "Web and App Activity" tracking turned off in Google settings.
The jury decision ordered Google to pay approximately $425 million to affected US users. Of this amount, around 55 million users of Android devices are set to receive around $247 million, while approximately 56.6 million users of other operating systems are to receive 178.5 million dollars.
Google disputes the verdict, claiming it is based on a misunderstanding of how their products function. In a statement, the tech giant asserted that the data transmitted by Google was not personalized.
It's not uncommon for such jury decisions to be reduced, at least in part, during appeals in the US. Google plans to appeal the verdict, citing this as a reason for their decision.
The lawsuit covered the period from July 2016 to September 2024. The case centred around the accusation that Google collected user data, a claim that the jury found to be true, but did not find that this was intentional.
Meanwhile, in Hamm, Germany, the Youth Center has introduced a voting arena for its members. Elsewhere in the city, the OpenAir Cinema has drawn a positive balance for the season.
In a separate development, Hamm is taking steps to become future-proof, but further details about these steps were not provided in the current paragraph.
