$19.5M Google Settlement For Illinois In Location Tracking Probe

ILLINOIS — The state of Illinois will receive $19.5 million from Google as part of a national settlement following an investigation into the company's tracking practices that was conducted by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and other Attorneys General from around the country.

The nationwide settlement totaled $391 million after officials found that Google had misled users about how it was using tracking services, Raoul announced in a news release on Monday.

Raoul and 38 other attorneys general opened an investigation into Google following a 2018 Associated Press article that revealed Google recorded movements “even when you explicitly tell it not to.”

The article focused on two Google account settings: Location History and Web and App Activity. According to the article, the Location History default setting is “off” unless a user turns on the setting. However, Web and App Activity, a separate account setting, is automatically turned on when users set up a Google account, which includes all Android phone users, the release said.

“Consumers were deceived by Google as to when their location was being tracked and how that information was used,” Raoul said in the news release on Monday. “With the proliferation of smart devices that collect increased data on its users, today’s announcement highlights the need for updated privacy laws that more effectively protect consumers.”

Google uses the personal and behavioral data it collects to build detailed user profiles and target ads on behalf of its advertising customers, the news release said. Location data is among the most sensitive and valuable personal information Google collects, with even limited amounts of location data capable of exposing a person’s identity and routines that can be used to infer personal details, investigators found.

Raoul and the coalition of other attorneys general said that since at least 2014, Google violated state consumer protection laws by misleading consumers about its location tracking practices in various ways.

Google caused users to be confused about the scope of the Location History setting, the fact that the Web and App Activity setting existed and also collected location information, and the extent to which consumers who use Google products and services could limit Google’s location tracking by adjusting their account and device settings, the release said.

Raoul said that under the agreement, Google has agreed to a series of provisions designed to give consumers more transparency into Google’s practices, including showing additional information whenever users turn an account setting on or off; making key information about location tracking unavoidable for users and creating an enhanced “Location Technologies” webpage where users can get detailed information about the types of location data Google collects and how it’s used.

The settlement also puts limits on Google’s use and storage of certain types of location information and requires Google account controls to be more user-friendly.