Google Users Win $425.7M Verdict In Data Privacy Lawsuit

[San Francisco, CA] – A federal jury yesterday awarded a $425,651,947 verdict to multiple classes of approximately 98 million Google users, finding the company collected their data in violation of California privacy laws. The plaintiffs were represented by attorneys from Morgan & Morgan, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, and Susman Godfrey L.L.P.

The case centered around an option available on mobile devices that led users to believe they could choose to prevent Google from collecting and transmitting their data. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that Google made billions of dollars from the data it collected without users’ permission. After a two-and-a-half-week trial, the jury found Google liable for invasion of privacy and intrusion upon seclusion and granted the nine-figure verdict.

“The data companies like Google collect on their users is the defining commodity of our time,” said attorney John Yanchunis of Morgan & Morgan. “We’re proud to have fought with our co-counsel on behalf of the plaintiffs and pleased that the jury listened to the evidence and saw how Google enriched itself by collecting information without its users’ consent. We hope this result sends a message to the tech industry that Americans will not sit idly by as their information is collected and monetized against their will.”

The case was heard by Judge Richard Seeborg in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Case No. 3:20-cv-04688. Google is represented by a team of attorneys from Cooley LLP.

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