Google fails to end 'private browsing' snooping lawsuit | AppleInsider

Google has failed to convince a court to kill off a $5 billion class-action lawsuit alleging it continues to track users despite efforts to turn off data collection, including "private browsing" modes in Safari and other browsers.

A class-action lawsuit from June 2020 claimed Google was able to track the online habits of web users, in spite of attempts by users to prevent such tracking from taking place. In a Friday ruling from U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh for the Northern District of California, Google's attempt to throw out the lawsuit was denied.

The lawsuit alleges Google collects data on its users through a "pervasive data tracking business," with it collecting browsing history and other online activities. Crucially, the lawsuit insists such tracking is done even if "incognito" mode in Chrome is used, or any other "private browsing" modes are engaged in browsers like Safari.

All of this is allegedly done without the user's permission. However, Bloomberg reports Google argued that the consent was provided by users, with the privacy policy explicitly disclosing its data collection processes.