Bitterness over the contentious legal action was evident from both sides this week.
FILE – In this Sept. 24, 2019, file photo a woman walks below a Google sign on the company’s campus in Mountain View, Calif. A group of Google engineers announced Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, they have formed a union, creating a rare foothold for the labor movement in the tech industry. Google will delete billions of records it scooped from “Incognito” mode web browsing of about 136 million U.S.
According to the settlement terms outlined in a court filing Monday by the plaintiffs’ lawyers, Google must delete or anonymize billions of user records that it was alleged to have grabbed deceptively. It does not have to stop hoovering up the data but must change the language on the opening screen of an Incognito browser window and in its privacy policy to make clear what it is taking.
The settlement “squarely addresses that failure,” said the plaintiffs’ notice of the settlement terms, filed Monday in Oakland U.S. District Court. The Incognito opening screen previously warned that “Your activity might still be visible to websites you visit.” Now, under a change made by Google to comply with the settlement, it has added that using the mode “won’t change how data is collected by websites you visit and the services they use, including Google.
The plaintiffs’ notice alleged that Google had been able to identify Incognito users with high probability by combining browser data with the internet-protocol addresses that identify devices on the internet or local networks. Under the deal, Google will partially redact IP addresses it collects and alter the way it gathers browser information, the notice said.“Google not only resisted disclosure of key evidence but also engaged in misconduct,” said the plaintiffs’ notice.
“Google’s executives at the highest levels were aware of these concerns, but nothing changed,” the notice said.
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Google's incognito mode to undergo changes after settlementJustin Boggs is a writer for the E.W. Scripps company. Justin covers anything from politics to sports and entertainment.
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