Google Found Guilty of Misleading Australian Customers on Data Collection
The Australian Federal Court has found Google guilty of misleading customers about personal location data collection on android mobile devices in a world-first enforcement action by the country’s consumer watchdog.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has been pursuing legal action against Google’s “misleading conduct” since Oct. 2019.
“This is an important victory for consumers, especially anyone concerned about their privacy online, as the Court’s decision sends a strong message to Google and others that big businesses must not mislead their customers,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.
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The Australian Federal Court has ruled that Google partially misled users in the country when it comes to how it collects and uses location data. Justice Thomas Thawley has handed down his verdict for the case filed in 2019 by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which accused the tech giant of tracking Android users locations without giving them an informed choice.
The ACCC argued that between January 2017 and December 2018, the company gave users the impression that keeping their Location History setting off would be enough to prevent Google from collecting their data. That s not the case, the watchdog said, because Google could still gather location information if the Web & App Activity setting is switched on, which is its default state.
Google misled consumers on location data collection: Court
By IANS |
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Google.. Image Source: IANS News
Sydney, April 16 : A court in Australia has ruled that Google misled consumers on how it collected personal location data on Android mobile devices for almost two years.
Justice Thomas Thawley from the Australian Federal Court ruled that Google, between January 2017 and December 2018, misrepresented the location history setting.
According to the judge, the Google Account setting allegedly helped Google collect, keep, or use personally identifiable data about their location when consumers first create an account, reports ZDNet.
The decision brought an end to a legal fight that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) commenced one and a half years ago.
Australian Court has announced that Google was found out to be tricking its users about its data collection. What are the steps that you should do to disable Google's location data in the settings?
Australian Court Rules Google Deceived Users About Location Data Collection
16 Apr 2021
Tech giant Google could be facing major fines after the Australian Federal Court found that the Masters of the Universe misled Australian smartphone and tablet users about its location data collection.
ABC News Australia reports that Google could be facing fine sin the “many millions” after the Australian Federal Court found that the company misled Australian users about its collection of location data.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) took the tech giant to court over on-screen representations made on Android devices in 2017 and 2018. The case focused on two specific Google settings affecting location data collection, “location history” and “web & app activity.”