Google settles lawsuit for $68 million following allegations of secretly recording smart device users
Google will pay $68 million to settle a lawsuit alleging its voice assistant secretly recorded users' conversations without their knowledge.Summary
Google has agreed to a $68 million settlement in a class action lawsuit claiming its voice-activated Google Assistant secretly recorded users of various devices – including smartphones, speakers, and laptops – even when not activated by “hot words” like “Hey Google.” Plaintiffs alleged this illegal recording was used to target them with personalized advertising. While Google did not admit fault, it cited the costs and uncertainties of litigation as the reason for settling. The settlement requires court approval. This is not Google’s first privacy-related settlement; the company previously paid $1.4 billion to Texas and $425.7 million for similar privacy violations, and agreed to destroy billions of private browsing data records. Apple also settled a similar case regarding Siri for $95 million in December 2024.
(Source：Fox Business)