Google set to face class-action lawsuit over data collection in Chrome

Date:
Wed, 21 Aug 2024 18:30:19 +0000

Description:
Google will now have to argue it didnt mislead users by telling them
disabling Chrome sync would prevent personal information from being sent to the company.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Google will have to answer in court allegations of collecting users private information inside its Chrome browser without their permission following a
new ruling.

A US federal appeals court has reversed a previous dismissal of the case Calhoun v. Google LLC on the basis that the lower court should have assessed whether a reasonable user reading [Googles privacy disclosures would think that he or she was consenting to the data collection].

Per The Verge , at the heart of the case is the allegation that Google harvested data on users of Chrome without opting into Chrome Sync - a feature designed to sync bookmarks, passwords and tabs across multiple Chrome
clients. Google back in court on appeal

The plaintiffs in the case assert that Chrome sent Google their browsing history, IP addresses, and identifying cookies without their say-so. This was previously dismissed on the basis of Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers noting that this behaviour was established in Chromes privacy policy, and finding users continued use of the web browser enough to establish agreement with that policy.

However, on appeal , Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. wrote users may not have understood these disclosures thanks to conflicting customer-facing
information provided by Google.

Google had a general privacy disclosure yet promoted Chrome by suggesting
that certain information would not be sent to Google unless a user turned on sync.

Google, naturally, arent happy with this, with a spokesperson for the company telling The Verge that it intends to fight the case. And in the midst of all this is the announcement that passwords will soon sync across Android and Desktop Chrome clients without Chrome Sync , so long as users are signed into the browser with their Google account.

So, data is still being synced to a Google account without express permission being given via Chrome Sync, but at least its just passwords, and a
presumably optional measure designed to be convenient for users. Its also not an entirely new feature, with the change having arrived on iOS in November 2023 More from TechRadar Pro Thousands of Google Chrome browsers are at risk from this damaging attack Google Chrome is getting a long-overdue data
privacy upgrade Weve also listed the best secure browsers right now



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/google-set-to-face-class-action-lawsuit -over-data-collection-in-chrome


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