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According to a recent class action lawsuit, Google tracking is a “dirty little secret” built into the operating system of Android phones.
Plaintiffs Joseph Taylor, Edward Mlakar, Mick Cleary and Eugene Alvis say Google unfairly used their cellular data to track their information. This location data — which poses a real cost to the plaintiffs and other consumers — is allegedly used by Google to generate billions in annual profits.
Google reportedly accomplishes this through the Android operating system it designed. Without any action from Android device owners, their cellphones allegedly use cellular data to transfer information to Google about location data.
According to the plaintiffs, this occurs at all hours of the day — even if users take the time to move Google apps to the background, close these programs or disable location sharing.
The Google tracking class action lawsuit notes this data transmission could easily be delayed until Android users are connected to Wi-Fi. However, the plaintiffs say, Google ignored this fact and instead “deliberately” coded the Android operating system to use costly cellular data to passively transfer location data at all times.
“Google effectively forces these users to subsidize its surveillance by secretly programming Android devices to constantly transmit user information to Google in real time, thus appropriating the valuable cellular data users have purchased,” the Google tracking class action lawsuit contends.
“Google does this, in large measure, for its own financial benefit, and without informing users or seeking their consent.”
This Google tracking scheme allegedly causes financial damage to consumers by appropriating the cellular data Android users have paid for.
With passive use, the system allegedly transfers 4.4 MB of data a day, or 130 MB of data each month, to Google servers. With active use, around 11.6 MB of data is reportedly transferred to Google each day — amounting to around 350 MB each month.
These figures are allegedly much lower for iPhone operating systems, transferring around one-sixteenth of the amount of data with passive use and one-half of the data with active use.
Most users pay a monthly fee for either a set amount or an unlimited line of cellular data.
Even with unlimited data, a data usage threshold may be associated with speed restrictions or even fines.
Despite not paying monthly fees for the cellular allowances, Google allegedly interferes with this property for its own benefit.
To make matters worse, Android users such as the plaintiffs allegedly have no say in the costly scheme and are powerless to stop it.
The plaintiffs claim that, despite them never providing consent, Google designed the Android operating system in a way that makes this constant, costly data sharing “mandatory and unavoidable burdens.”
Google’s terms and services and other policies allegedly support this scheme by purportedly creating binding contracts. The plaintiffs challenge the validity of these contracts, noting users such as themselves have no choice but to agree to the terms and policies if they wish to use their purchased Android devices.
“Even if Google’s policies and terms of service are valid contracts, they do not alert users that Android devices will needlessly consume their cellular data allowances,” the Google tracking class action lawsuit claims.
“While Google informs the users of certain transfers of personal information when they are actively engaged with their devices, its extensive ‘privacy’ policies are silent on mandatory, passive information transfers and the means by which they occur.”
According to the plaintiffs, the Google tracking data is used to tailor ads that are targeted to the phone users. These ads are reportedly preloaded using further cellular data.
In their class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs contend Google must compensate them and a proposed Class for the fair market value of the data used in addition to the value of their personal location used by the company to turn a profit.
The Android users seek to represent a Class of Android users — excluding citizens of California — who used their mobile device to access the internet using cellular data from their provider.
Do you have an Android phone? Are you worried about Google tracking your location without your consent? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Plaintiffs and the proposed Class are represented by Ann Ravel of McManis Faulkner; Glen E. Summers, Karma M. Giulianelli and Alison G. Wheeler of Bartlit Beck LLP; and George A. Zelcs, Robert E. Litan, Ryan Z. Cortazar, Michael E. Klenov and Karol O’Keefe of Korein Tillery LLC.
The Google Tracking Class Action Lawsuit is Joseph Taylor, et al. v. Google LLC, Case No. 5:20-cv-07956, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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928 thoughts onGoogle Tracking Hijacks Cellular Data, Class Action Lawsuit Claims
I have an Androud and I don’t like being tracked.
PLEASE ADD ME
Please add me.
Add me!
Yes add me please this is Just redicious
No wonder mu UNLIMITED data is so slow towards the middle to end of the month. Google is such a fraud. This is ridiculous!!
Add me
Add me
Add me please
Please add me. I have unlimited and my data is slowed down horribly!
WTH!! This explains as to why my Unlimited data is slowed down every month and why my data usage is higher than it should be.
This not right of Google to do this without my permission and unethical practices by Google.
Now they are in my opinion stealing are data and making use pay for their theft at the same time.
But it is like Google to do this, just like Google limits what we are allowed to search for in their web search site.
Maybe it is time everyone boycotts Google search page and YouTube too!!!
Please add me