Alphabet’s Google Hit With $425M Penalty Over Privacy Violations

Alphabet’s Google has been ordered to pay $425 million in a class action lawsuit over alleged privacy violations. The case, filed in 2020, claimed the tech giant collected and used user data even after individuals opted out of tracking features. The settlement covers approximately 98 million users and 174 million devices, though plaintiffs initially sought over $31 billion in damages.

Separately, Google secured a legal victory as another federal judge ruled in its favor, allowing the company to retain its Chrome browser amid antitrust allegations. A federal jury in San Francisco found Google liable on two of three privacy claims but declined to award punitive damages, concluding the company did not act with malice. Google plans to appeal, arguing the ruling misinterprets its data practices and emphasizing that collected information was encrypted and anonymized.

The verdict highlights ongoing tensions between tech firms and regulators over data privacy. Google maintains that businesses using its analytics tools received only aggregated traffic data—never personally identifiable information—even when users disabled Web & App Activity tracking. The outcome underscores the delicate balance between user privacy and the data-driven advertising models underpinning much of the digital economy.