SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) – A Washington state court judge has refused to dismiss the state attorney general’s lawsuit against Google that alleges the company lied to consumers about location data.
King County Superior Court Judge Matt Lapin on May 20 denied Google’s motion to dismiss AG Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit in a short order. He rejected claims his court did not have jurisdiction over the issue, finding Google marketed, advertised and sold its products in Washington.
“The State’s claims for violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act arise out of and relate to Google’s contacts with Washington State through its sales of products to consumers and through its use of consumer data in its advertising and marketing,” Lapin wrote.
Ferguson sued Google in January, alleging Google misled consumers into believing they have control over how their location data is collected and used. Ferguson says consumers can’t effectively prevent Google from collecting and profiting off of the data.
The data is used to sell advertising, from which Google made nearly $150 billion in 2020, Ferguson said. A setting called “Location History” allows Google provide personalized maps and recommendations.
Google claimed when the setting was turned off, it stopped storing the user’s location, Ferguson says, pointing to a help page that stated “With Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored.”
But Google continues to collect location data under a setting called “Web & App Activity,” he says.
“Location data is deeply personal for consumers,” Ferguson said. “Google kept tracking individuals’ location data even after they told the corporation to stop. Google did this to increase its profits.
“Google attempted to evade accountability for its actions, and the judge rejected the corporation’s arguments.”
Ferguson’s lawsuit could be a whopper. It seeks $7,500 per violation of the state’s Consumer Protection Act. He believes there are likely hundreds of thousands of potential violations.