BALTIMORE — Maryland Attorney General Brian announced that his Consumer Protection Division and 39 other attorney generals have reached a $391.5 million settlement with Google over its tracking practices relating to Google account settings.
The settlement, the largest amount paid to state attorney generals in a privacy investigation, also contains mandates that will require Google to make it easier for consumers to manager their privacy settings when using Google products.
Maryland's share of the 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.”
According to a release from the Maryland Attorney General's office, the settlement detailed how Google violated state consumer protection laws by misleading consumers about its location tracking practices since at least 2014.
The settlement requires Google to show more transparency with consumers about its practices. Google must now:
- 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 and requires Google account controls to be more user-friendly.
Maryland was joined by multiple states in the settlement.
