Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich appeared on “Justice with Judge Jeanine” Saturday night to discuss his state’s ongoing lawsuit against Google, which is accused of tracking Arizona users without their consent.
According to the lawsuit, the tech company continues to collect location information even when users have turned off the tracking feature.
See also: Google: Faces $5 billion lawsuit
“It’s that simple: we’re alleging that Google is violating consumer protection law,” Brnovich said. “What we’ve uncovered is that Google is systematically collecting as much information as possible about you and everyone else in this country, without you having the ability to meaningfully opt out of it.”
The lawsuit also states that some of Google's employees had expressed concerns about the practices used by the company.
"Essentially, every time you use your phone, they're watching everything you do. They're collecting every bit of information," Brnovich said.
"They basically know more than your spouse about where you've been and more than a travel agent about where you're going," he added.
The Attorney General alleged that Google is acting as an advertising company interested in generating more revenue and exploiting information collection to manipulate search results.
See also: Court confirms that Google misled users about location data collection
“Justice with Judge Jeanine” host Jeanine Pirronoted that the federal government would have to issue a court order or warrant to obtain the location information Google holds. Brnovich agreed.
“If I wanted to track someone’s location … I would have to have a warrant and ask a judge to approve it. Google doesn’t do that,” he said.
Brnovich said Google defends itself by saying it asks users to agree to certain “terms and conditions.” The company believes that once users agree to those terms, they also agree to the sharing of their information.
See also: Thousands of women sue Google over pay inequality
“How easy is it to opt out of this?” Pirro asked.
“It’s almost impossible,” Brnovich replied. “Even when users have opted out of location services, Google is still tracking them. This is what internal documents show,” he added. “You might think you would opt out, but no, that’s not the case.”
The legal dispute between Arizona and Google over user tracking began in 2020.
Source: Fox News
