About 14 million Android users are set to receive a massive $314.6 million payout from Google, after a jury declared the company wrongfully transferred customer data without permission.
A jury in California has found the tech giant must pay damages for transferring data from idle Android smartphones without permission, reports Reuters.
-->Google says it will appeal the decision, which the lawsuit claimed triggered “mandatory and unavoidable burdens shouldered by Android device users for Google’s benefit.”
The jury found the data transfers violated California’s privacy laws, and the money will be handed exclusively to users in the state.
According to the lawsuit, which was initiated in 2019, the company used customers’ cellular data to transfer information that was used for things like targeted advertising.
In court, Google argued that the transfers were fully legal and covered by the company’s privacy policies and terms of service, and no users were harmed in any way.
After the verdict was announced, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the jury’s decision “misunderstands services that are critical to the security, performance, and reliability of Android devices.”
Google is also facing a lawsuit on the transfers that represent customers in the rest of the country, which is set to start in the first half of next year.
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