A San Francisco federal jury has ordered Google to pay a staggering $425.7 million after finding the tech giant illegally tracked smartphone users who believed they had opted out of such surveillance.
The verdict, reached Wednesday after a two-week trial, represents a major blow to Google and a significant moment in the fight over digital privacy rights in the United States, according to The Associated Press.
The class-action case spanned a wide period — from July 1, 2016, to Sept. 23, 2024 — and covered approximately 98 million smartphones.
That means the payout breaks down to roughly $4 per device, a small amount per user, but a massive signal from the jury about tech accountability.
Despite the jury’s clear ruling, Google denies any wrongdoing and says it will appeal the decision.
“This decision misunderstands how our products work, and we will appeal it,” said Google spokesman Jose Castaneda on Thursday. “Our privacy tools give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalization, we honor that choice.”
The plaintiffs in the five-year-old case accused Google of collecting data from users who had attempted to turn off tracking and privacy settings, only to have their movements and online activity monitored anyway — a move lawyers claim generated billions in advertising revenue.
The lawyers argued that Google used the data they collected off smartphones without users’ permission to help sell ads tailored to users’ individual interests — a strategy that resulted in the company reaping billions in additional revenue.
They had originally sought more than $30 billion in damages, alleging that Google’s behind-the-scenes tracking and ad targeting amounted to illegal profiteering.
While the final jury award was far less than requested, privacy advocates say it’s still a major win for consumers and a powerful warning shot to the rest of Big Tech.
“We hope this result sends a message to the tech industry that Americans will not sit idly by as their information is collected and monetized against their will,” said attorney John Yanchunis of Morgan & Morgan, who helped bring the case.
The ruling came just one day after Google dodged a bullet in a separate, high-profile antitrust case in Washington, D.C., where the U.S. Department of Justice had sought to break up Google’s search engine operations. A federal judge ruled that the company was operating an illegal monopoly but stopped short of calling for a breakup, instead ordering Google to share some of its search data with competitors.
With court battles stacking up and scrutiny increasing, this week has delivered a one-two punch to Google — one on monopoly power, the other on privacy violations. And with appeals looming, the fight over tech dominance and personal data is far from over.
