Bulletins

Google is getting hit by state lawsuits over location tracking

The actions by attorneys general on Monday are the latest fallout from revelations that Android phones tracked users who opted out of "Location History."

An Android smartphone displaying a Google system launch screen.

States have sued Google over its location tracking, especially on Android.

Photo: Daniel Romero/Unsplash

Washington, D.C., sued Google on Monday, alleging the company had violated consumer protection laws with "bold misrepresentations" about its location tracking on Android phones and other privacy practices, according to an announcement from the district's Attorney General Karl Racine.

The suit is the latest fallout from a 2018 report in the Associated Press that showed Google continued collecting sensitive information about users' locations even when they specifically opted out of a setting called "Location History."

Arizona sued Google in 2020 over the practices. Now, the attorneys general in Texas, Indiana and Washington state will also sue Google in their state courts, according to Racine's office. Texas is also leading a multistate antitrust lawsuit in federal court against Google that focuses on the company's position in the online ads market.

Racine, who is seeking a court order that would stop Google's practices and force the company to disgorge the profits from its actions, focuses on Google's habit of collecting location information from users' phones through Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other apps, even when consumers turned off the location setting.

The lawsuit also alleges that "Google manipulates its users through deceptive design choices that alter user decision-making."

Google has previously argued Arizona "mischaracterized" the company's data collection practices.

Ben Brody

Ben Brody (@ BenBrodyDC) is a senior reporter at Protocol focusing on how Congress, courts and agencies affect the online world we live in. He formerly covered tech policy and lobbying (including antitrust, Section 230 and privacy) at Bloomberg News, where he previously reported on the influence industry, government ethics and the 2016 presidential election. Before that, Ben covered business news at CNNMoney and AdAge, and all manner of stories in and around New York. He still loves appearing on the New York news radio he grew up with.

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