Google cookie tracking class action settlement

Google class action settlement updates:

• The revised deadline for Class Members to opt out of or object to the Google cookie tracking settlement is July 7, 2022.

• On Jan. 3, 2020, Google users argued that a revised $5.5 million Google privacy class action settlement should be approved after the original settlement was dismissed by an appeals court.

• On Aug. 6, 2019, a $5.5 million settlement resolving allegations that Google circumvented users’ privacy to secretly track their online activity was rejected the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

• On Dec. 20, 2016, an objector to Google’s $5.5 million class action settlement says the funds should go to Class Members, not third-party organizations.

Google Inc. has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging it set Google cookie tracking on Apple Safari or Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser, even though doing so was contrary to the default cookie settings on those web browsers. Class members in this Google settlement do not need to submit a claim form.

Anyone who used a Safari or Internet Explorer web browser with the browser cookie settings set either to accept cookies only from visited sites or to block cookies from “third parties and advertisers” and visited websites that displayed ads from Google’s advertising serving service, doubleclick.net, may be affected by this class action settlement.

The plaintiffs claim that Internet Explorer and Safari web browsers had default settings that blocked cookie tracking from visited sites, third parties and advertisers. According to the Google cookie tracking class action lawsuit, Google circumvented these settings and used cookies to gain access to internet users’ online communication and activity.

Google denies any wrongdoing, but has agreed to settle the cookie tracking class action lawsuit to avoid the expense and uncertainty of ongoing litigation. Further, the internet search giant claims that its cookie placement was a permissible and lawful activity that helped boost the effectiveness of advertisements.

The Google cookie tracking class action settlement was preliminarily approved on Aug. 31, 2016.

Class Members wishing to opt out of the Google cookie tracking class action settlement must have done so no later than Nov. 27, 2016.

Objections must have been submitted by Dec. 21, 2016.

The date for the final fairness hearing will be set after Sept. 9, 2022.

There is no claim form for this Google settlement.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members include anyone in the United States who used an Apple Safari or Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser in 2011 and 2012, and who visited a website from which doubleclick.net cookies were placed even though the browser settings were such that cookies from that website should have been blocked.

Potential Award

There are no monetary benefits available to Class Members from this Google cookie tracking settlement.

Google has agreed to implement systems configured to instruct Safari web browsers to expire or delete any cookie placed from doubleclick.net.

In addition, Google has agreed to distribute $5.5 million to be paid to non-profit and/or educational institutions to promote public awareness and/or to support research, development and initiatives related to the security and/or privacy of web browsers.

Proof of Purchase

N/A

Request for Exclusion Form

REQUEST FOR EXCLUSION FORM »

There is no claim form for this Google settlement.

Opt Out Deadline

07/07/2022

Case Name

In re: Google Inc. Cookie Placement Consumer Privacy Litigation, Case No. 1:12-md-02358, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

Final Hearing

To be set after Sept. 9, 2022.

Settlement Website

GoogleCookiePlacementPrivacySettlement.com

Claims Administrator

In re: Google Inc. Cookie Placement Settlement Administrator
c/o GCG
P.O. Box 10320
Dublin, OH 43017-5920

Class Counsel

Jose M. Bermudez
Nicholas Todd Heinrich
Lynne Krause

STRANGE & BUTLER LLP
SILVERMAN THOMPSON SLUTKIN WHITE
BARTIMUS FRICKLETON AND ROBERTSON PC

Defense Counsel

N/A