A jury in San Jose, California, has ruled that Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, misused mobile data from Android users in the state, resulting in a compensation order of over $3.146 billion. The jury agreed with the plaintiffs that Google sent and received information from idle devices without user consent, imposing an unavoidable burden on Android device users for Google's benefit.
Google plans to appeal the decision, arguing that the ruling misunderstands essential services related to the security, performance, and reliability of Android devices. The plaintiffs' attorney highlighted the verdict as a significant acknowledgment of Google's misconduct.
The class-action lawsuit, initiated in 2019, represented approximately 14 million Californians. It claimed that Google collected data from idle Android phones to serve targeted advertising, compromising user data without consent. Google contended that no Android user was harmed by the data transmission, and users had agreed to such practices in the company's terms of service and privacy policy.
A similar lawsuit has been filed in a federal court by another group representing Android users from 49 other states, with a trial set for April 2026.
