LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan will receive around $12 million from a settlement with Google over its location tracking practices.
Attorney General Dana Nessel says the settlement is with 40 states for $391.5 million dollars and is the largest multistate privacy settlement with attorneys general in U.S. history.
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In a statement, the Nessel’s office said “Google makes the majority of its revenue from using the personal data of those who search in its browsers and use its apps”.
The attorneys general opened up an investigation after a 2018 news article revealed Google could record movements when you told it not to. That violated state consumer protection laws.
The settlement also mandates Google to be more open with consumers about its practices, including:
- Showing additional information to users whenever they turn a location-related account setting “on” or “off.”
- Making key information about location tracking unavoidable for users (i.e., not hidden).
- Giving users detailed information about the types of location data Google collects and how it’s used at an enhanced “Location Technologies” webpage.
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