A “Australia News” search on the Google homepage, hosted on a desktop computer in Sydney, Australia, on Friday, January 22, 2021.
David Gray | Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Australian federal court ruled that Google deceived users about personal location data collected via Android mobile devices between 2017 and 2018, the country’s competition regulator said on Friday.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which initiated lawsuits against Google in 2019, said the ruling was a “major victory for consumers” in terms of protecting online privacy.
Google tricked Android users into thinking the search giant could only collect personal data if the “location history” option was turned on, the ACCC said. The court ruled that Google could still collect, store, and use personally identifiable location data if settings for “web and app activity” were turned on, even if “location history” was enabled. disabled.
“This is an important victory for consumers, especially for anyone concerned about their online privacy, as the Court’s decision sends a strong message to Google and other people that big business shouldn’t fool their customers. “said Rod Sims, president of the ACCC.
We disagree with the rest of the findings and are currently reviewing our options, including a possible appeal.
A Google spokesman noted that the court rejected many of the ACCC’s broad claims.
“We do not agree with the rest of the findings and are currently reviewing our options, including a possible appeal,” a Google spokesman said in a statement.
Following ACCC court proceedings, the technology giant has improved transparency and user control, including an automatic location history deletion feature and an incognito mode in its Maps product.
The ACCC said it is requesting statements, financial penalties, release orders and compliance orders, but did not specify the amount.
“In addition to sanctions, we are seeking an order for Google to issue a notice to Australian consumers to better explain the configuration of Google’s location data in the future,” said Sims, who added that it would allow users to make informed decisions. about whether they should leave certain Google Settings turned on.
The competition regulator and technology giant previously clashed over a media law that would require Google and Facebook to pay for the news. Australia passed this law in parliament in February.