Google has lost in a lawsuit and will 23 million to customers who have used its services from 2006 to 2013. Individuals are expected to get around $7.70.
Users who operated any Google services from October 2006 to September 2013 with a proof accompaniment could be entitled to a small piece of a class action lawsuit against the tech giant.
The claims can be made online. While the amount for each individual is supposed to fluctuate, estimates put it at less than $8.
This settlement comes after Google lost a case filed in 2013. Accusations of the company “storing and intentionally, systematically and repeatedly divulging” users’ search queries and histories to third-party websites and companies were rampant.
Despite not being divulged in Google’s terms of service, personally identifiable information like names, street addresses, credit card and financial account information, and phone numbers were allegedly sold out.
While Google admits no wrongdoing, it is forced to pay out $23 million. Part of the settlement is to regularly and transparently update Google’s data collection, storage, and relationship with third parties in its FAQ page.
Users can submit their claim until July 31. Users would be asked to enter their name, street, email address, and some form of attestation. While it’s unclear when the claims will be distributed, the next court date for the case is October 12.
This isn’t the first time the search engine company has lost user privacy cases. Early last year, it was asked to pay $391.5 million to settle allegations that the search and advertising giant illegally tracked users’ locations even when specifically asked not to.
Last year, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, agreed to pay $725 million to settle a similar class-action lawsuit over its handling of user data.