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A consumer protection lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion in damages because Google tracked users who thought they were browsing the Internet privately has been settled. No terms were disclosed.
Google's Chrome browser's “Incognito” mode continued to follow users, emails revealed during testing proved. The data was used to sell ads.
The judge in the case confirmed a tentative agreement to settle the class action lawsuit originally filed in 2020.
The lawyers sought at least $5,000 for each class member tracked by the firm's Google Analytics or Ad Manager services while not logged into their Google account.
The settlement came just weeks after Google declined to let a judge decide the case. A trial in California was scheduled to begin next year.
“Google has created an inexplicable treasure trove of information so detailed and vast that George Orwell could never have imagined,” the original court papers said.
A formal settlement is expected to be approved by the court by February 24, 2024.