Google has been sued by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich over its tracking practices . The attorney general claims that Google is violating ' privacy users by collecting information their even if they have turned off their location settings .
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, alleges that Google has designed the Android in a way that even when users turn off location settings, they are not protected because they must take other steps to prevent tracking.
The lawsuit says that the Android menu is misleading , as users must also disable a second setting, which most people are not aware of . Only then can they prevent the collection of their information. If this setting is not disabled, Google continues to track users and collect location data (maps, weather and search data)
“Through these deceptive and unfair acts and practices, Google makes it impossible to opt out of the collection of information, even if users try to do so,” the lawsuit said.
The prosecutor says Google has designed the Android operating system this way to bolster its “advertising empire” through the collection of data . The company tracks users’ activities and collects data to target them with specific ads.
In a series of tweets, Brnovich criticized Google's advertising practices:
“In 2019, over 80% of Google’s revenue – $135 billion of its $161 billion – was generated through advertising. Google collects detailed information about users , including their physical locations, to target users with ads. Often, this is done without the users’ consent or knowledge,” Brnovich said.
"We took this action to stop Google's misleading collection of user data," he said.
The lawsuit is the result of an Arizona investigation into Google's practices that began in late 2018.
The investigation examined how Google tracked users and handled data .
This isn't the first time Google has been sued. Australia has also accused the company of tracking practices and failing to properly inform users. Users were unaware that they had to turn off both their location settings and Web & App Activity settings to prevent Google from storing location data.
The United Kingdom has also taken similar action against the technology company.
