The State of Oklahoma will receive more than $6.8 million dollars from a multi-state settlement with Google over its location tracking practices. The total settlement with 40 states totals $391.5 million dollars, the largest privacy settlement in U.S. history.
Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor says Google simply didn’t make it easy for people to turn off location tracking.
“Google denied consumers the ability to choose whether it could track their sensitive location data to make a profit. This type of data is extremely personal for consumers,” said O’Connor. “I am glad Oklahoma will benefit from this historic settlement which proves that no entity, not even big tech companies, is above the law.”
The settlement requires Google to be more transparent with consumers about its practices. Google must:
Show additional information to users whenever they turn a location-related account setting “on” or “off;”
Make key information about location tracking unavoidable for users (i.e., not hidden); and
Give users detailed information about the types of location data Google collects and how it’s used at an enhanced “Location Technologies” webpage.
The settlement also limits Google on its use and storage of certain types of location information.
