Google Allegedly Collects and Sells Users’ Personal Data

An Ontario woman has filed a class action lawsuit against Google alleging the tech giant collects her and other users’ data to sell to third-party advertisers.

Lead plaintiff, Lindsay Provost, says she and other Canadians with a Google Account have unwittingly provided personal information to the company. In turn, Google allegedly compiled profiles on its users that it sells to advertisers. Provost says that she and other Google users have never consented to the collection of their information, nor were they even aware the data collection was going on.

“Google collects a vast quantity of Personal Information from the Plaintiff and Class Members by way of Google Services, Google Ads and Google Analytics. Google’s privacy features and settings are ineffective at preventing Google from collecting Class Members’ Personal Information, despite Google’s affirmative representations to the contrary,” contends the Google privacy violation class action lawsuit.

Google Allegedly Collecting Plaintiff’s Data Since 2010

Lindsay says she has had a Google Account since 2010 in order to access Google Services and other websites. During this time, Google allegedly collected personal details about the plaintiff, including her name, gender, age, education, marital status, parental status, whether she owned a home, her location, her search history, her income, and her IP address.

“This action concerns Canadians’ right to privacy and right to be free from unreasonable interference into their private affairs,” states the Google privacy violation class action. “It alleges that Google blatantly violates those rights by collecting vast quantities of Personal Information from millions of Class Members without their knowledge or consent, in the interest of deriving profits for themselves and their shareholders.”

User Data Collected From Multiple Google Services

According to the complaint, a variety of operations run through Google capture users’ data without consent. These allegedly include Google Services, Google Ads, and Google Analytics.

“Google encourages Class Members to sign up for an Account, which is required to access certain Google Services, such as Gmail,” explains the class action lawsuit Canada. “To create an Account, users are required to provide Personal Information including their name, date of birth, and gender, and are encouraged to provide their email address and phone number.”

Even those who do not have a Google account are subject to the collection of their personal information, notes the Google privacy violation complaint. The information that users enter to access Google services, such as Search and Maps, is allegedly subject to collection, including a “wide range of Personal Information.” Collected information may include terms entered into the Search bar in Chrome and the tracking of users’ locations in Maps and Android, says the class action.

Google’s Privacy Settings Deceptive

The plaintiff contends that, while Google offers so-called privacy features and settings, these are ineffective at preventing the tech giant from collecting user data. Further, users are deceived into thinking that their data is protected by Google’s representations about its privacy settings.

The point of collecting Google user data is profit, contends the class action lawsuit Canada. According to the complaint, the personal information of the plaintiff and all users is a commodity to Google, which it then sells to third-party advertisers.

“As a result, the Personal Information of millions of Canadians is in the hands of a foreign corporation and subsidiaries known for the commodification of the information they collect, without the Class Members’ knowledge or consent, for which they have suffered loss and damage,” contends the Google data collection class action lawsuit.

User data is allegedly utilized by these third parties in targeted advertising campaigns. Such use of Class Member data “uniformly and objectively offensive” argues the complaint.

This Google privacy violation class action is seeking general, punitive and exemplary damages, court costs, and a declaration that Google made “false, misleading, deceptive, and unconscionable misrepresentations.” The plaintiff seeks to represent a proposed Class of Canadians who used Google or Google Services.

Not the First Google Privacy Violation Class Action

A number of Google data collection class action lawsuits have been filed over the allegedly improper collection of Canadian’s personal information by the tech company. Earlier this month, a Google class action lawsuit was filed in British Columbia alleging the company trespasses on users’ devices to secretly collect personal information for advertising purposes.

Another class action lawsuit Canada filed in August contends that Google’s “incognito” mode is deceptive to users. Despite assertions that this so-called private web browsing mode protects their sensitive information, Google still collects such data, contends the lawsuit.

Website owners have also initiated a class action lawsuit over Google ads alleging the company exploited them by superimposing its logo over their ads without consent. The move generates ad revenue for Google, say the website owners, and hijacks Class Members’ advertising campaigns by diverting internet activity to Google products.

Are you concerned about the alleged collection of your data by Google? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!

The lead plaintiff Lindsay Provost and proposed Class Members are represented by Jonathan J. Foreman and Anne E. Legate-Wolfe of Foreman & Company PC.

The Google Data Collection Class Action Lawsuit is Provost v. Google LLC, et al., Case No. CV-20-00645911-00CP, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Canada. 

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