A judge is “disturbed” by the finding that even users browsing in private mode are being tracked.
How hidden is their activity when Google users are browsing in Incognito mode?
The unit of Alphabet Inc. says activating stealth mode in Chrome, or “private browsing” in other browsers, means the company “won’t remember your activity.” But a judge who has put Silicon Valley giants to the test in the past over their data collection on Thursday raised doubts about whether Google is as forthright as necessary about the personal information it collects from users.
At a hearing on Thursday in San Jose, California, US District Judge Lucy Koh said she was “disturbed” by Google’s data collection practices, as described in a class action lawsuit stating that the company’s promise of private browsing is an “offense” list “. The lawsuit is seeking $ 5,000 in damages for each of the millions of people whose privacy has been compromised since June 2016.
Koh weighed in on Google’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, saying she finds it “unusual” for the company to make the “extra effort” of collecting data if it doesn’t use the information to build user profiles or targeted ads.
In the past year, Google has become a target of antitrust complaints filed by state and federal officials – as well as companies – accusing it of abusing its dominance in digital advertising and online searches. Koh has a deeper history with the company as an outspoken critic of its privacy policy. In one notable case, she forced Google to disclose email scanning to build profiles and create targeted ads.
In this instance, Google is accused of relying on bits of code within websites that use its analytics and advertising services to scrape users’ supposedly private browsing history and send copies of it to Google’s servers.
Google makes it seem like the private browsing mode gives users more control over their data, Amanda Bonn, a lawyer representing the users, told Koh. In reality, “Google says there is essentially very little you can do to prevent us from collecting your data, and that’s what you should assume we’re doing,” Bonn said.
Company Disclosure
Google states that every time people use Chrome’s private browsing mode, a full-page notification makes it clear that other people using the device will not see their activity, but it may still be visible to websites they visit and their internet service provider.
Andrew Schapiro, a Google attorney, said the company’s privacy policy “expressly discloses” its practices. “The data set in question is being disclosed,” he said.
Another Google attorney, Stephen Broome, said website owners contracted with the company to use its analytics or other services are well aware of the data collection described in the lawsuit.
Broome’s attempt to downplay the privacy concerns by pointing out that the federal court’s own website uses Google services ended in failure.
The judge demanded an explanation “as to exactly what Google does”, while expressing concern that visitors to the court’s website unwittingly disclose information to the company.
“I want a statement from Google about what information they collect about users on the court website and what it’s used for,” Koh said to the company’s lawyers.
The case is Brown v. Google, 20-cv-03664, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).