Google faces several lawsuits, agrees to settlements in others

Google lawsuits, settlements overview: 

• Who: Consumers recently hit Google with lawsuits. The company also reached settlement agreements. 
• Why: The lawsuits claim the company failed to warn Google Map users before directing them into dangerous areas and shared private and protected sexual information without consent. 
• Where: The lawsuits and settlements affect consumers nationwide. 

Consumers recently targeted Google with a pair of lawsuits, and the company reached a pair of settlement agreements. A judge dismissed another complaint against the company, and a separate lawsuit achieved class certification. 

Google Maps route led to couple’s assault, robbery, lawsuit says

A California couple recently filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming Google Maps directed them to drive through a dangerous part of Cape Town, South Africa, leading to a violent assault and robbery. 

The couple argue Google Maps failed to warn them when it directed them to drive into an area they claim Google knows is unsafe for tourists. 

“Google could have easily programmed Google Maps to avoid directing travelers into the dangerous routes and to provide real time notification of the hazards,” the lawsuit states. 

Adam & Eve customer data shared with Google, class action claims

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Google and Adam & Eve owner PHE Inc. last month, arguing the adult e-commerce company shared the private and protected sexual information of individuals who visited the website with Google. 

The consumer claims neither Google nor Adam & Eve obtained consent to share the information.

“When Plaintiff used Defendant’s Website, information that revealed her Private and Protected Sexual Information and IP address was provided to Google without notifying her and without her consent,” the Adam & Eve class action states. 

Google agrees to AI patent infringement settlement 

Last month, Google agreed to a settlement to resolve claims it infringed on patents Singular Computing, a hardware and software technology company, owns when developing its artificial intelligence programs. 

Singular sought damages between $1.63 and $5.19 billion. The financial terms of the settlement agreement were not disclosed in a notice announcing the agreement. 

Google argued it did not need to use Singular’s patented technology for any of its products or programs, while the latter claimed Google infringed on its patent involving machine learning. 

Google settles Chrome Incognito tracking claims

In late December, Google agreed to a settlement  to resolve claims the company covertly tracked the internet searches of Chrome Incognito users who believed they were anonymously searching with the browser. 

The plaintiffs sought $5 billion in damages when filing their complaint against the company in June 2020, arguing Google collected their data even when they browsed in private mode.

Terms of the settlement agreement were not disclosed. The judge overseeing the complaint fined Google $79,000 last April for failing to meet discovery deadlines for a second time. 

Judge grants class certification in Google tracking lawsuit

Last month, a federal judge in California granted class certification to a lawsuit filed against Google that claims the company secretly tracked the browsing activity of its account holders who used third-party apps it serviced. 

The judge certified two nationwide classes of more than 100 million Google account holders, rejecting the company’s argument that the consumers’ claims were too individualized and “inherently personal” to qualify for class treatment. 

“As to the uniform conduct of the class, the actual damages model does, in fact, account for class-wide attitudes and Google’s class-wide alleged wrongdoing,” the judge ruled. 

Panel dismisses Google advertising lawsuit

Last month, a three-judge panel tossed a class action lawsuit filed against Google over claims the company unlawfully obtained more than $1 billion in free advertising by inserting ads on Android devices. 

The panel, which reversed a prior federal court’s decision, ruled federal copyright law overrides state law. 

The class action lawsuit claimed Google programmed Android devices to impose ads that were not paid for on websites visited by an Android owner using Google’s “Search App” to browse the internet. 

Have you been affected by a recent class action lawsuit or settlement involving Google? Let us know in the comments.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• FuboTV illegally shares viewer data, class action claims
• Judge grants discovery extension in DoorDash fees class action 
• American Airlines class action alleges company improperly closed loyalty accounts
• AT&T class action over reward cards consolidated, dismissed