A jury in California's Santa Clara Superior Court has ruled that Google must pay over $3.146 billion to Android users in California for unauthorized data usage. This decision follows a class-action lawsuit filed in 2019 by a group representing around 14 million California Android users. They accused Google of embedding hidden mechanisms in Android systems since 2014, which collected sensitive data such as device identifiers and location information without user consent, even when Google services were not actively used.
The jury found Google guilty of illegally collecting mobile data, imposing an unavoidable burden on Android users for Google's benefit. The compensation will be distributed among California residents using Android devices between January 1, 2014, and July 1, 2025, with an estimated payout of $12 to $15 per user. Additionally, Google must submit quarterly compliance reports to the California Attorney General and undergo third-party audits for five years.
Google plans to appeal, arguing that its terms of service and privacy policy already cover data transmission, and users had consented. However, the jury dismissed this, holding Google accountable for data transmission at the framework level. This landmark ruling challenges traditional privacy lawsuit frameworks and may prompt a global reevaluation of data collection boundaries in smart devices.
