Google will destroy a large cache of consumer data to settle a lawsuit that claimed the Chrome web search engine was tracking incognito users.
The settlement, which is valued between $5 billion and $7.8 billion, was hashed out in Oakland, California, federal court, Reuters reported. The lawsuit began in 2020, spanning over 136 million consumers using the Chrome web browser since June 1, 2016.
The lawsuit argued that Google was illegally surveilling consumers by misleading Chrome users in incognito mode into believing their data was private. As part of the settlement, Google is not paying any damages. However, individual users may sue the tech company individually for damages.
“This settlement is an historic step in requiring dominant technology companies to be honest in their representations to users about how the companies collect and employ user data, and to delete
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