Google to pay Pennsylvania nearly $20M settlement, Shapiro says. Catch up on the case

Pennsylvania will receive almost $20 million as part of a larger settlement with Google over how the company tracks users’ locations.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who was elected last week as the state’s next governor, said Monday the $391.5 million, 40-state privacy settlement is the largest of its kind in U.S. history.

“Right now, consumers are beholden to Google’s promise that Big Tech knows what’s best for users’ data,” Shapiro said in a statement. “Google’s impact on the lives of everyday Americans is pervasive — they have a responsibility to consumers to ensure that the data they collect is only obtained with express consent from the user. My office will continue to fight to ensure consumers can control when and how their personal data is collected.”

Pennsylvania will receive $19,670,434 from the settlement. A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said the funds will go to the state Treasury.

The states began investigating Google after a 2018 Associated Press story found the company tracked consumers’ location data even after they opted out. About 2 billion Android users were affected, along with hundreds of millions of iPhone owners who used Google for maps or search.

Shapiro said location data is a major part of Google’s digital advertising business as the company uses it to deliver targeted ads to consumers. It is some of the most valuable and sensitive information the company collects, and even a small amount can reveal a person’s identity and routines.

The states’ attorneys general found Google had been misleading users about location tracking since at least 2014, Shapiro said.

Google said it resolved the issues several years ago, AP reported Monday.

“Consistent with improvements we’ve made in recent years, we have settled this investigation, which was based on outdated product policies that we changed years ago,” company spokesperson Jose Castaneda said.

Under the settlement, Google agreed to:

• Show more information to users when they turn an account setting on or off
• Make sure key information about location tracking is clear to users
• Give users detailed information about what collection data Google collects and how it is used.

The full settlement is available online.