Wisconsin Getting Chunk Of Location Tracking Settlement From Google

WISCONSIN — Forty states including Wisconsin will be getting a chunk of cash from a privacy settlement with Google over the company's location tracking practices.

Out of a $391 million settlement, Wisconsin will see around $8.4 million, according to a news release from the state Department of Justice. It's the largest multistate settlement in the country's history.

The investigation was opened after an Associated Press article in 2018 showed that Google tracks movements even when people explicitly opt out, according to the news release. The company had a separate setting that was automatically on and tracking even if a "location history" setting was off, the DOJ said.

Attorneys general found that Google violated consumer protection laws with the practices and that they have been in violation since at least 2014, the release said. The company caused confusion about its location history setting and about the extent that users could change location settings, the DOJ said.

The company could then use the data — "among the most sensitive and valuable personal information that it collects," the DOJ pointed out — to expose a person's habits and identity.

“Big tech companies must respect people’s privacy and be transparent about their practices,” said Attorney General Kaul in the release. “I’m proud to be part of this bipartisan group of AGs that’s standing up for consumer privacy.”

The settlement also requires Google to show more information for location settings and to make key information impossible to miss, the news release said.