Nebraska Will Be Receiving Nearly $12 Million In Its Share Of Google Settlement

Paul Hammel, Nebraska Examiner:

November 14, 2022

LINCOLN — Nebraska will be receiving nearly $12 million as part of a $391.5 million legal settlement with Google over its misleading tracking of users’ locations.

Forty states, led by the attorneys general of Nebraska and Oregon, had sued Google, alleging that its customers were not fully aware that Google was tracking their location even when a user turns off the “Location History” function.

Record settlement

The $391.5 million settlement is the largest involving multi-state attorneys general privacy cases in history, the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office said Monday.

Location data is among the most sensitive and valuable personal information gathered by Google. Its advertisers use the information to customize ad pitches to Google users.

Even a limited amount of location data can expose a person’s identity and routines, according to the Nebraska AG’s Office, and can be used to infer personal details.

An investigation into Google’s misleading practices was launched in 2018 after the Associated Press reported that the giant internet search engine “records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to.”

Misled users since 2014

According to the out-of-court settlement with Google, the company had misled users about its location tracking practices since at least 2014, in violation of consumer protection laws.

The settlement, according to a press release from the Nebraska AG’s Office, requires Google to be more transparent with consumers about its practices by:

• Showing additional information to users whenever they turn a location-related account setting “on” or “off.”
• Making key information about location tracking unavoidable for users (i.e., not hidden).
• Giving users detailed information about the types of location data Google collects and how it’s used at an enhanced “Location Technologies” webpage.

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

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