Google class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Two consumers filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Google LLC.
- Why: The plaintiffs allege Google unlawfully transmitted Americans’ sensitive personal information to Chinese companies, including Temu and Baidu, through its advertising technology.
- Where: The Google class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
Google is facing a proposed class action lawsuit alleging it unlawfully shared Americans’ sensitive personal information with Chinese companies through its online advertising infrastructure in violation of a federal data security rule designed to protect U.S. national security.
Plaintiffs Corinne Pearson and Melenie Crutcher claim Google’s advertising technology transmitted users’ personal information to Temu and Baidu while consumers browsed websites using Google’s tracking tools.
According to the class action lawsuit, the alleged data sharing violated the Department of Justice’s Bulk Sensitive Data Rule, which took effect in April 2025. The rule restricts large-scale transfers of certain categories of Americans’ sensitive personal data to entities associated with designated “countries of concern,” including China.
The lawsuit alleges Google maintained direct integrations with Temu, Baidu and other Chinese technology companies that enabled those entities to receive persistent identifiers, IP addresses and other device-level information from U.S. consumers whenever Google’s tracking code executed on participating websites.
Plaintiffs claim those alleged transmissions fall within the DOJ rule’s prohibition on transferring bulk sensitive personal data to covered foreign entities.
According to the complaint, the Department of Defense has designated Baidu as a “Chinese Military Company” operating in the United States.
The Google class action lawsuit also alleges Temu has drawn scrutiny from members of Congress over concerns that it could facilitate data collection involving U.S. consumers.
The plaintiffs contend Google knew or should have known its practices were unlawful because the company participated in industry groups that commented on the DOJ’s rulemaking process and publicly discussed the rule’s restrictions.
Plaintiffs further allege violations of privacy laws
In addition to the DOJ rule allegations, the class action lawsuit claims Google’s conduct violated the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the California Invasion of Privacy Act and California common law privacy protections.
According to the complaint, Google intentionally intercepted consumers’ online communications through its advertising technology and disclosed that information to entities allegedly subject to the jurisdiction or influence of the Chinese government.
The plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide class of individuals whose communications were allegedly transmitted through Google’s tracking technology and whose personal information was allegedly shared with Baidu, Temu or other entities based in China on or after April 8, 2025. They also seek certification of a California subclass.
The Google class action lawsuit requests injunctive relief, statutory damages, disgorgement of profits, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and litigation costs. The plaintiffs also demand a jury trial.
Meanwhile, a group of online tax filers is seeking class certification in a lawsuit against Google, alleging the company used Google Analytics to collect sensitive tax return information from the TaxAct and TaxSlayer websites without consumers’ consent.
What do you think about the allegations that Google shared user data with Chinese companies? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Brandt Silverkorn of Edelson P.C.
The Google data sharing lawsuit is Pearson, et al. v. Google LLC, Case No. 5:26-cv-07495, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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