The Federal Court of Australia has ruled that Google misled consumers after using a double layer of location settings that tracked users beyond their consent. The case, led by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), accused the tech giant of not being clear enough about what options users had to choose to use to help them make informed decisions.

The case looked at the collection of personal data on Android devices between January 2017 and December 2018. According to the ACCC’s charges, Google misled users by telling them that “Location History” was the only setting that affected the collection and storage of personal data about the places they visited. The charges state:

“In fact, another Google Accounts setting called Web & App Activity also allows Google to collect, store, and use personally identifiable information and location information when it is turned on, and this setting is turned on by default.”

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

The court ruled in favor of the ACCC, saying that when users opted to turn off Location History, they were not aware that another mechanism was tracking them. While the lawsuit demands that Google pay damages to users for the privacy violation, the company is expected to appeal.

The case is not Google's first time in Australian courts. The tech giant has previously faced Epic Games in court over anticompetitive practices, being accused of abusing transaction fees on the Play Store. The company also faced some legal challenges with Australia after being charged for fund local journalism, even threatening to leave the country with the proposal, but ultimately backtracking.

Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. TechCrunch

Picture: Deepanker Verma/Pixabay/CC