Google has to face a class action lawsuit over Chrome’s data collection

Google faces a revived class action lawsuit over unauthorized data collection through Chrome.

: Google must face a class action lawsuit accusing it of collecting data from Chrome users without consent. A federal appeals court reversed a previous dismissal, questioning if users understood the privacy disclosures. The case will return to the lower courts for further review.

Google is facing a revived class action lawsuit accusing it of collecting users' data through Chrome without their consent. The lawsuit, which was originally dismissed in December 2022, asserts that Google collected data from Chrome users even if they did not enable Chrome sync.

Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. of the federal appeals court ruled that the lower court should have reviewed Google's privacy disclosures to determine if a reasonable user would understand that they were consenting to data collection. This reversal sends the case back to the lower courts for reconsideration, overturning Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers' earlier decision in favor of Google.

Google's spokesperson José Castañeda expressed disagreement with the ruling and maintained confidence in Chrome sync's privacy controls. Despite plans to change how users access saved information without enabling Chrome sync, Castañeda clarified that the update is unrelated to the ongoing litigation.