A judge is “disturbed” by the finding that even users browsing privately are being tracked.
When Google users browse in “Incognito” mode, how hidden is their activity?
Alphabet Unit Inc. says that enabling stealth mode in Chrome or “private browsing” in other browsers means the company won’t “remember its activity.” But a judge with a history of taking the Silicon Valley giants to their data collection raised questions Thursday about whether Google is as direct as it needs to be about the personal information it collects from users.
At a hearing on Thursday in San Jose, California, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said she was “disturbed” by Google’s data collection practices, as described in a class action lawsuit. which says the company’s promises of private navigation are a “Russian”. The lawsuit seeks $ 5,000 compensation for each of the millions of people whose privacy has been compromised since June 2016.
Weighing Google’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, Koh said he found it “unusual” for the company to make an “extra effort” to collect data if it did not use the information to create user profiles or targeted advertising.
Google has become a target of antitrust lawsuits in the past year by state and federal officials – as well as companies – accusing it of abusing its dominant position in digital advertising and online search. Koh has a deeper history, with the company being a critical critic of its privacy policies. She forced Google in a notable case to reveal scanning emails to create profiles and target advertising.
In this case, Google is accused of relying on snippets of its code on websites that use its analytics and advertising services to overturn users’ allegedly private browsing history and send copies of it to Google’s servers.
Google makes it appear that private browsing gives users more control over their data, Amanda Bonn, a lawyer representing users, told Koh. In fact, “Google says you can do very little to prevent us from collecting your data, and that’s what you should assume we’re doing,” Bonn said.
Company disclosure
Google claims that every time people use Chrome’s private browsing mode, a full-page notification makes it clear that other people using the device won’t see their activity – but that websites may be visible on which is also accessed by their internet service provider.
Andrew Schapiro, a lawyer for Google, said the company’s privacy policy “expressly discloses” its practices. “The collection of the data in question is disclosed,” he said.
Another Google lawyer, Stephen Broome, said website owners who contract with the company to use analytics or other services are well aware of the data collection described in the lawsuit.
Broome’s attempt to minimize privacy issues by pointing out that the federal judicial system’s own website using Google’s services eventually backfired.
The judge asked for an explanation “about what exactly Google is doing”, while expressing concern that visitors to the court’s website inadvertently disclose information about the company.
“I want a statement from Google about the information it collects from users on the court’s website and what it is used for,” Koh told the company’s lawyers.
The case is Brown v. Google, 20-cv-03664, U.S. District Court, Northern California District (San Jose).