Court Orders #Google to Pay $314 Million for Mobile Data Theft.
Google lost a case related to accusations of collecting Android users' data without their consent. The company has already stated that it will appeal the verdict.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
A California court ruled that Google must pay $314 million in compensation for unlawfully collecting mobile data from Android users without their knowledge. The decision was made by a state court in San Jose after reviewing a class-action lawsuit filed in 2019 on behalf of California residents.
The plaintiffs argued that Google, part of the Alphabet Inc. holding, deliberately configured Android phones to transmit data to the company’s servers even without a WiFi connection. This led to mobile data charges, which were paid by the users themselves.
The lawsuit claimed that Google used the collected data "to advance its corporate interests," particularly to improve its targeted advertising system and mapping services.
The company disagrees with the ruling. Google spokesperson José Castañeda stated that the verdict is mistaken and harmful to users, as it misinterprets the basic features of Android, which are essential for performance and security. He also pointed out that the data transfer consumes minimal bandwidth and is covered by user agreements.
In addition to this case, there is another ongoing federal lawsuit concerning all Android users in the U.S., with the trial set to begin in 2026.