In a significant legal development, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Google must confront a revived class action lawsuit from users of Google Chrome. The lawsuit accuses the tech giant of collecting personal information without users’ consent, specifically targeting those who chose not to synchronize their browsers with their Google accounts. This decision overturns an earlier dismissal by a lower court.
The ruling, delivered on Tuesday with a 3-0 vote, mandates that Google address allegations regarding its data collection practices. Users of Chrome who have not synced their browsers with Google accounts since July 27, 2016, form the basis of this class action. These plaintiffs argue that Google failed to honor Chrome’s privacy notice, which assured users that their personal information would not be collected unless they activated the “sync” feature.
The lower court had previously dismissed the class action, determining that Google’s broader privacy policy, which permits data collection, should apply. However, Circuit Judge Milan Smith criticized this approach, emphasizing that Google’s specific privacy disclosures related to Chrome suggested that personal data would remain private unless sync was enabled. Smith argued that a reasonable user would not have understood that their data was being collected under the circumstances.
This decision follows a significant settlement agreement reached by Google last year. The company had agreed to destroy billions of records to settle a lawsuit alleging that it tracked users who believed they were browsing privately, particularly in Chrome’s “Incognito” mode. The settlement allowed users to pursue individual lawsuits for damages, leading to tens of thousands of claims filed in California’s courts.
The appeals court’s decision directs the case back to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, who had originally dismissed it in December 2022. Matthew Wessler, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, expressed satisfaction with the court’s ruling and anticipation for the trial.
Neither Google nor its legal representatives have yet responded to requests for comment regarding the latest development. The case, known as Calhoun et al v Google LLC, will now proceed with the revived class action, potentially shaping future privacy and data collection practices in the tech industry.
