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Google’s pockets are about $200 million lighter than they came this week after the company agreed to two separate settlements for two separate class action lawsuits accusing the company of violating user privacy. $135 million will be compensated in the case that Google allegedly collected user cellular data without consent, and $68 million drop a lawsuit claiming Google allowed Google Assistant to record private conversations without consent.
The bigger payout relates to Google’s apparent practice of unnecessarily (or illegal, depending on your point of view) collecting cellular data even when a user closes all Google apps, turns off location sharing, and locks their device’s screen. Google allegedly uses that data for product development and targeted advertising, which the lawsuit says is “conversion,” the false claim of another party’s property with the intent of controlling it.
According to Reutersthe settlement is believed to be the largest in a conversion case. Class members will be awarded a $100 payout. In addition to the money, they also got Google to agree to ask for permission during device setup before transferring data, add a toggle to give users the right to turn off transfers, and disclose data transfers in Google Play’s terms of service. Of course, Google will also admit no wrongdoing as part of the whole deal.
The smaller deal is the one that manages to get more attention. The $68 million settlement alleges that Google’s voice assistant, Google Assistant, will record users’ conversations without consent and use those conversations for targeted advertising—a claim that kicks off a round of everyone’s favorite conspiracy theory that sure feels true even if it isn’t: Your phone is listening to you.
Now, technically, it’s true that your phone is listening. That’s how Google Assistant works. It is listening to the “wake word,” which activates it and allows users to ask questions or give voice commands. Those conversations will be recorded and sent to Google servers for processing. Google claims that nothing is recorded or sent to its servers when Google Assistant is in standby mode and not active.
The class action alleges that Google was recording conversations outside of those conditions, possibly from mishearing the wake word and turning on without prompting. It also said that, even if Assistant is accidentally turned on, it still records conversations that can be shared with advertisers. It’s not quite “your phone is always listening to you,” but it’s enough to make someone a little wary of their voice assistant.
According to the BBCthe class for the case will include users of Google devices dating back to 2016, so don’t expect the payment to be too important here—maybe enough for a cup of coffee, if you’re lucky. As in other cases, Google will admit no wrongdoing as part of the settlement. But who among us hasn’t paid a collective $200 million for things we definitely didn’t do?








