Google settles “Location History” lawsuit with 40 states, will pay $392 million (original) (raw)

• Revamping user information hubs: To help explain how location data improves our services, we’re adding additional disclosures to our Activity controls and Data & Privacy pages. We’re also creating a single, comprehensive information hub that highlights key location settings to help people make informed choices about their data.
• Simplified deletion of location data: We’ll provide a new control that allows users to easily turn off their Location History and Web & App Activity settings and delete their past data in one simple flow. We’ll also continue deleting Location History data for users who have not recently contributed new Location History data to their account.
• Updated account set-up: We’ll give users setting up new accounts a more detailed explanation of what Web & App Activity is, what information it includes, and how it helps their Google experience.

Ellen Rosenblum, the Oregon attorney general, recapped the lawsuit, saying, “For years, Google prioritized profit over the privacy of people who use Google products and services. Consumers thought they had turned ‘off’ their location tracking features on Google, but the company continued to secretly record their movements and use that information for advertisers.”

Google's business model is almost entirely made up of tracking people and using that data to show them relevant ads across the Internet. The company's last yearly report showed 282billioninrevenue,sofor"years"ofprivacyviolations,that282 billion in revenue, so for "years" of privacy violations, that 282billioninrevenue,sofor"years"ofprivacyviolations,that392 million settlement works out to about 12 hours of revenue.