Google Paid $391.5 Million to Solve a Consumer Privacy Lawsuit

In addition to the settlement amount, Google is required to delete all location data it had collected and stop collecting such data in the future without explicit user consent. Google has agreed to pay $391.5 million to settle a lawsuit with 40 states over the company's tracking of users' locations. This is the largest-ever consumer privacy settlement led by attorney generals. Google collected personal and behavioral location data and sold it to advertisers, even after users had opted out of location history. In addition to the settlement amount, Google is required to delete all location data it had collected and stop collecting such data in the future without explicit user consent. Google announced several changes it will make in response to a recent settlement. The changes include consolidating user information hubs into a single, comprehensive repository, increasing transparency around user privacy and data collection policies, and highlighting the benefits that location information provides users. Google's digital advertising uses a lot of location data to collect information about people's behavior, which marketers then use to make detailed profiles of consumers. Advertisers use this data to create ads that are targeted at a specific group of people. In 2021, this kind of personalized advertising generated more than $209 billion in ad revenue for the company that owns Google, Alphabet.

(source: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-settles-location-tracking-case-for-391-5-million/471153/)