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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Attorney General Maura Healey announced on Monday that she joined a coalition of 40 attorneys general in reaching a $391.5 million settlement with Google for misleading consumers about location tracking, according to a statement from Maura Healey's office.
The settlement is the largest multistate data privacy settlement reached by attorneys general in the history of the United States. Massachusetts is expected to receive about $9.3 million.
After an investigation by the attorneys general, they found that Google had violated state consumer protection laws with misleading information about its location-tracking practices since 2014. There were two account settings, "Location History" and "Web and App Activity," used to control data collection that the coalition said confused Google users and left them unaware of the extent to which they were able to adjust location tracking, according to Maura Healey's office.
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The attorneys general opened the investigation after an Associated Press article published in 2018 revealed Google can track users even if they have turned off "Location History" in settings to disable movement tracking. The setting "Web and App Activity" is automatically turned on when users create an account and tracks location even when users have explicitly turned it off in "Location History."
“Technology companies need to be upfront with users about how and when their data is tracked and shared, especially when it comes to location information which can reveal personal information about people’s lives,” AG Healey said in a statement. “This unprecedented agreement holds Google accountable for these deceptive practices, requires more transparency, and ensures more consumer control over what information is used.”
Google uses location data as a part of its digital advertising business, which can include customers' sensitive and personal information, according to a statement from Maura Healey's office.
Monday's settlement requires Google to be more transparent with its users about location tracking practices and to make account controls more user-friendly. The settlement also requires location information collected through "Web and App Activity" to be automatically deleted after 30 days.
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