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The settlement will also require Google to make it easier for consumers to manage their privacy settings when using Google products, according to Frosh.
Maryland’s share of the massive settlement is $8.6 million.
“Google misled Marylanders about its location tracking practices. It built detailed profiles of users but failed to alert them to the extent of the sensitive, personal location information it collected,” said Attorney General Frosh. “This settlement will give users greater power to protect their privacy.”
The attorneys general found that Google violated state consumer protection laws by misleading consumers about its location tracking practices for nearly a decade, specifically confusing users about the scope of the Location History setting.
Location data has been a key part of Google's digital advertising business, using personal and behavioral data to build detailed user profiles and target ads.
Even small amounts of location data can expose a person's identity and routines.
The settlement requires Google to be more transparent with consumers about its practices.
Google must:
- Show additional information to users whenever they turn a location-related account setting “on” or “off”;
- Make key information about location tracking unavoidable for users (i.e., not hidden); and,
- Give users detailed information about the types of location data Google collects and how it’s used at an enhanced “Location Technologies” webpage.
The settlement also limits Google’s use and storage of certain types of location information.
In addition to Maryland, the settlement was joined by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
The settlement is the largest amount paid to state attorneys general in a privacy investigation.
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