Appeals court reverses Chrome data privacy lawsuit dismissal

Update:

• The 9th Circuit appeals court reversed the dismissal of a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the company collected the personal data of Chrome users without their consent. 
• On Aug. 20, a three-judge panel unanimously overturned U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ December 2022 decision dismissing the lawsuit against Google LLC.
• The plaintiffs allege breach of contract and a violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law in relation to Google’s Sync feature, which links the accounts of Chrome users to third-party sites. 
• The appeals panel says the lower court erred by neglecting to focus on the key issue of the case: whether a reasonable user would understand Google’s various privacy policies.

Google Chrome data collection alass action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Google is asking a federal judge to dismiss claims it collected Chrome users’ data without their consent. 
• Why: Google claims users gave consent when they created their accounts and again when they later signed a privacy policy.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

(Dec. 6, 2021)

Google has asked a California federal judge to throw out a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the company collected the personal data of Chrome users without their consent. 

Google argues it has shown that its users gave the company consent to collect their data by signing an account-holder agreement. 

The company argues the users’ consented even further to having their data collected when they signed a privacy policy. An agreement the plaintiffs have acknowledged they did not read, points out Google. 

“Discovery has established that Plaintiffs agreed to Google’s Privacy Policy when they signed up for their Google Accounts,” the company wrote. “Plaintiffs all have now admitted that they never read the Chrome Privacy Notice that is the keystone of their claims.”

The claims are centered around Google’s Sync feature, which links the accounts of Chrome users to third-party sites. 

A US district judge has already removed several claims from the class action lawsuit, including alleged violations of the Wiretap Act, Stored Communications Act, and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, reports Law360. 

Google is now looking to dismiss claims including breach of contract and a violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law, among other allegations. 

Google forces users to sign Chrome agreement, claims class action lawsuit

Plaintiffs have argued, meanwhile, that they had no choice but to sign the contract to create an account and that they can still make claims even if they chose not to use privacy protections, such as third-party cookie blockers. 

“This is akin to a thief criticizing the victim for failing to use a second lock,” Chrome users argued, reports Law360. 

A similar class action lawsuit was filed against Google last month by two Android smartphone users who claim their phones come with a program that collects their personal data without their consent. 

Do you believe Google has collected your data without your consent? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Lesley Weaver, Angelica M. Ornelas, and Joshua D. Samra of Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP, David A. Straite, Amy Keller, Adam Prom, and Sharon Cruz of DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC, and Viola Trebicka of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. 

The Google Chrome Data Collection Class Action Lawsuit is Calhoun, et al. v. Google LLC, Case No. 5:20-cv-05146, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Claims Google Harvests Third-Party App Data from Android Users Headed To Arbitration
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Wants More Info on Facebook, Amazon and Google’s Payment-related Systems and Products
• Google May See End to Play Store Loot Boxes Class Action Lawsuit