Google Faces Class Action Lawsuit for Gathering Data from Millions of iPhone Users

Megalith

Megalith

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A group going by the name Google You Owe Us is taking Google to court in the UK, complaining that the company harvested personal data from 5.4 million iPhone users. It alleges that Google bypassed privacy settings on iPhones between June 2011 and February 2012. The lawsuit seeks compensation for those affected by what is described as a "violation of trust."

Even if the case is successful, the people represented by Google You Owe Us are not expected to receive more than a few hundred pounds each, and this is not an amount that would make much of an impact on Google's coffers. The complaint alleges that between the specified dates, Google ignored users' browser settings and placed ad-tracking cookies on millions of devices.
 
from the article...

I want to spread the world about our claim. Google owes all of those affected fairness, trust and money. By joining together, we can show Google that they can’t get away with taking our data without our consent, and that no matter how large and powerful they are, nobody is above the law.


my real question is.. just what is in it for him?? cause he cant really believe that load of bull he just said
 
Would assume there is an "I agree" button you have to click on before the app starts. I know this doesn't necessarily make things "legal" - but doesn't everyone know that Google/Facebook/others give us nice candy so they can collect information on us?
If you want to have fun, ask some non-tech people how Google makes money. I've had some interesting answers. People seem shocked when you tell them by selling you ads and your information to advertisers. Somehow, they think they are this virtuous company in existence to make our lives better. I use their services, but am wary of what I've given up for this. (Not btiching about it - they are entitled to making money. They have to pay their employees to make the stuff we all use.)
 
I really hope to see more cases like this all over the world. Ultimately, I would like to see courts subpoena database admins at Google. I doubt their storage (and which peers have access to it) aligns with company purpose, user agreements, and privacy policy.
 
Better yet, it should be like on Android permissions when you install a new app. If users have to OK every permission there, why can't it be enforced that users must explicitly OK every info piece the service wants to track? IF anything it'll let people know just WHAT is being collected. Frankly, the crashlytics service is appalling in what it grabs.

"Cookies will be placed. ALLOW/DENY"
"Beacons will be placed. ALLOW/DENY"
etc
 
velusip said:
I really hope to see more cases like this all over the world. Ultimately, I would like to see courts subpoena database admins at Google. I doubt their storage (and which peers have access to it) aligns with company purpose, user agreements, and privacy policy.
Click to expand...
You would have to throw pretty much every other company into this lawsuit too. Apple included. Google is not the only company doing this they are just the primary target right now.
 
SomeoneElse said:
You would have to throw pretty much every other company into this lawsuit too. Apple included. Google is not the only company doing this they are just the primary target right now.
Click to expand...

Well, that's not how class action suits work, but I agree it's not just Google who needs to come under the microscope on this one.
 
Go after one and get a win, it opens the door to go after the next, and so on.
 
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