Google pays 93 million to California to stop a complaint for unauthorized location tracking

Tech giant Google agreed to pay $93 million (about €87 million) to the state of California to stop allegations that it tracked users' locations without their knowledge.

The settlement follows a “multi-year” investigation by the California Department of Justice, which determined that Google misled users into believing they were not being tracked when in fact they were.

“Our investigation revealed that Google was telling its users one thing, but doing the opposite and continuing to track movements for its own commercial benefit.. “That is unacceptable and we hold Google accountable with the settlement,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the company must also provide more information about the location data it collects from users.

This is not the first lawsuit Google has seen over its location tracking feature, as last year it paid $85 million to stop another similar complaint in Arizona, and then another 392 million to settle similar lawsuits in 40 states, including there were Oregon, New York and Florida.

Since these lawsuits occurred, Google has changed its tool and according to the company's spokesperson, José Castañeda, told the specialized media The Verge this Friday, the accusations are “based on obsolete product policies that changed years ago.”