Google continues to track users even after location tracking is turned off
06/03/2021 / By Franz Walker
In an update on a lawsuit against tech giant Google, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich says that the tech giant continues to collect location data even after users turn off tracking on their smartphones and other devices.
Documents recently submitted in court by Brnovich’s office revealed that Google engineers sent emails expressing concerns about the company’s location data collection efforts. In their emails, the engineers suggested that the Associated Press report on the matter in 2018 was correct.
“So there is no way to give a third-party app your location and not Google? This doesn’t sound like something we would want on the front page of the [New York Times],” one employee allegedly stated in a newly unredacted section.
“I agree with the article. Location off should mean location off, not except for this case or that case,” stated another Google employee. (Related: Google engineers BLOW THE WHISTLE on Google’s massive criminal conspiracy.)
Google hid privacy settings as more customers started using them
Talking to Fox News, Brnovich said the documents suggest that Google knew it was collecting users’ information and that such a revelation would upset customers.
“What we’ve uncovered so far, I believe, shows that Google themselves understand and appreciate that what they are doing is something that is sneaky and something that would piss off consumers if they knew about it,” he said. “So the fact they are trying to hide what they are doing, they are being sneaky about it, and using every trick in the arsenal to stop this from seeing the light of day is all consumers need to know about Google’s intentions.”
Brnovich filed his lawsuit against Google last year. He accused the firm of pressuring smartphone manufacturers, such as LG, into hiding privacy settings that users often use.
The new court documents show that Google was troubled that consumers started to use privacy settings more frequently after it tested versions of Android that made them easier to find. Google then buried the privacy features within the settings menu.
“We allege when consumers try to opt out of Google collecting location data, the company is continuing to find misleading ways to obtain that information and then use it for their financial advantage,” Brnovich said in an interview with FOX Business.
Google claims Brnovich and Arizona acting on behalf of Oracle
In response to the suit, Google claimed that both Brnovich and the state of Arizona were looking to misconstrue what the company does. It also stated that the lawsuit was encouraged by Oracle – which fought with Google in court over the rights to software code used in its Android operating system.
“The Attorney General and our competitors driving this lawsuit have gone out of their way to mischaracterize our services,” said Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda to news outlets after the release of the new documents. “We have always built privacy features into our products and provided robust controls for location data. We look forward to setting the record straight.”
But Brnovich is sticking to his guns. He said the emails indicate that Google’s own employees are aware that what the company is doing will upset customers.
As for his next steps, Brnovich told FOX Business that the state of Arizona will continue to issue depositions to Google employees about the case, with another periodic status update next month. Brnovich believes the case will likely go to trial sometime next year.
Follow EvilGoogle.news for more on the ongoing lawsuit against the tech giant.
Sources include:
AZAG.gov 1[PDF]
Tagged Under: Android, AP, Arizona, Associated Press, evil Google, Google, lawsuit, Oracle, privacy, Smartphones, spying, surveillance, tech giants
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