A group of Canadian law firms have teamed up to propose a class action lawsuit against Google. As reported IT World Canada, this actually takes the form of three lawsuits across Canada. All of which claim that Google unlawfully collects and profits from personal information without their consent.
It will not surprise anyone to read that this is not the first time Google has found itself in such a dispute. Back in June it was reported the company faced legal action over unlawfully tracking users in incognito mode. More recently, Google has faced challenges over its 30% transaction fee in the Google Play store.
Like any of these court cases, this will have a long way to run before any concrete action can be taken. However, the bad press alone can be significantly damaging to Google.
Google faces another lawsuit this time in Canada
The Canadian lawsuit against Google claims that the company “turns Canadians’ electronics into tracking devices”. This means that the company can “build profiles on almost every Internet user in Canada”. All of which occurs without their consent according to these law firms.
The claim boils down to the idea that Google misrepresents its privacy and data practices. One lawyer pointed out that a key point in the case is likely to be whether Google tells online users about personal information its collects.
Most worryingly Google can collect information even if it does not have a relationship with you. Even if a user does not use Chrome or Gmail sites can collect information through Google Ads or Analytics.
It is as yet unclear as to whether the three suits lodged across Canada will be merged into one. They are very similar in nature so Google may well move for this to happen.
The three law firms have and continue to work together on some aspects of the cases. There are some legal differences in different provinces of Canada which may make it difficult to merge the cases.
Google yet to respond to lawsuit allegations
Google has been approached for comment on this matter but as yet they have not made a response to the allegations. The lawsuit is seeking both exemplary and punitive damages against Google but a number has not been determined.
In terms of what happens next, there are quite a few stages before we get to a trial and a decision. First, a class action lawsuit has to be approved by a judge. No date has been set for a hearing of this nature just yet.
This is unlikely to be the last time Google finds itself embroiled in a privacy scandal over the way it uses its users’ data. There does appear to be more pushback to the way in which Google handles individuals data.
Perhaps as time goes on the pressure will become too great and big changes will be made. However, right now that appears somewhat unlikely as Google seems happy to fight these suits for now.