The Washingtonpost.com reported that “Attorneys general from…the District of Columbia, Texas, Washington and Indiana, allege the company made misleading promises about its users’ ability to protect their privacy through Google account settings, dating to at least 2014.”  The January 24, 2022 article entitled “Google deceived consumers about how it profits from their location data, attorneys general allege in lawsuits” included these comments:

The suits seek to stop Google from engaging in these practices and to fine the company.

The complaints also allege the company has deployed “dark patterns,” or design tricks that can subtly influence users’ decisions in ways that are advantageous for a business.

The lawsuits say Google has designed its products to repeatedly nudge or pressure people to provide more and more location data, “inadvertently or out of frustration.”

The suits allege this violates various state and D.C. consumer protection laws.

This privacy litigation will be interesting to follow!