Article written by Haim Ravia and Dotan Hammer
A federal court in Australia has found Google liable for misleading Android users nearly two years into thinking that with their Location History setting “off” Google would not obtain and use personal data about a user’s location. However, Google continued to obtain and use location data so long as the Web & App Activity was “on”.
Similarly, when users during that period accessed the Location History setting to toggle it off, they were misled because they were not informed that by leaving the Web & App Activity was “on” Google would still obtain and use location data.
Google’s use of the user’s location data was not limited to the purpose of serving the user’s use of Google services, but also to personalize advertisements for the user and other purposes.
The decision was delivered on a lawsuit filed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The ACCC’s lawsuit seeks the imposition of penalties, compliance orders, and notification to consumers, which the federal court of Australia will determine at a later time.
CLICK HERE to read the Australian federal court judgment in Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v. Google LLC.
