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A judge is “disturbed” by the observation that even users browsing in private mode are followed.
When Google users browse in “Incognito” mode, how much of their activity is hidden?
The Alphabet Inc. unit says turning on stealth mode in Chrome, or “private browsing” in other browsers, means the company won’t “remember your activity”. But a judge with a habit of catching Silicon Valley giants against their data collection raised doubts Thursday that Google is being as outspoken as it should be about the personal information it collects from users.
At a hearing Thursday in San Jose, Calif., U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said she was “disturbed” by Google’s data collection practices as described in a class action lawsuit claiming that The company’s private browsing was a “trick”. The lawsuit seeks $ 5,000 in damages for each of the millions of people whose privacy has been compromised since June 2016.
Weighing Google’s attempt to have the complaint dismissed, Koh said she found it “unusual” for the company to go the “extra mile” to collect data if it did not use the information to create user profiles. or targeted advertisements.
Google has become a target of antitrust complaints over the past year, filed by state and federal officials – as well as businesses – accusing it of abusing its dominance in digital advertising and online search. Koh has a deeper history with the company as a vocal critic of its privacy policies. It forced Google, in one notable case, to disclose its email analysis to build profiles and target advertising.
In this case, Google is accused of relying on elements of its code in websites that use its analytics and advertising services to retrieve users’ supposedly private browsing history and send copies to them. Google servers.
Google gives the impression that private browsing mode gives users more control over their data, said Amanda Bonn, a lawyer representing users, in Koh. In fact, “Google says there’s not much you can do to stop us collecting your data, and that’s what you should assume we’re doing,” Bonn said.
Company disclosure
Google argues that whenever people use Chrome’s incognito mode, a full page notice makes it clear that other people who use the device won’t see their activity – but it can still be visible. , among other things, by the websites they visit and their Internet service provider.
Andrew Schapiro, an attorney for Google, said the company’s privacy policy “expressly discloses” its practices. “The data collection in question is disclosed,” he said.
Another Google attorney, Stephen Broome, said website owners who contract 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 privacy concerns by pointing out that the federal court’s own website uses Google’s services ended up backfiring.
The judge demanded an explanation “on what exactly Google is doing,” while expressing concern that visitors to the court’s website may unintentionally disclose information to the company.
“I want a statement from Google on what information they collect about users on the court’s website, and what it’s used for,” Koh told lawyers for the company.
The case is Brown v. Google, 20-cv-03664, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).
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