Google to pay $425 million in privacy lawsuit

A jury has ordered Google to pay $425.7 million in a class action lawsuit after the company was found guilty of collecting user data even when privacy settings were turned off.

Sep 15, 2025 0 2

Google to pay $425 million in privacy lawsuit

A jury in San Francisco has ordered Google to pay $425.7 million in a class action lawsuit alleging violation of users' privacy rights. The lawsuit was filed in 2020. The prosecution alleges that the company collected user data from third-party apps starting in 2016, even if the search history feature was disabled in the device settings.

A jury found Google guilty of violating privacy but rejected computer fraud charges. The award was significantly less than the $31 billion plaintiffs sought, but it remains one of the largest in privacy cases.

In early July, Google was already ordered by a California court to pay $314 million in another class action lawsuit filed in 2019. In that case, the company was accused of using Android users' mobile data without their knowledge to collect information and serve targeted advertising.

Earlier, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google would not have to sell its Chrome browser to break its illegal monopoly on online search. Instead, the company must share valuable search information with competitors that could help them compete.