HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Google has agreed to a $391.5 million settlement with 40 states, including Oregon, to resolve an investigation into how the company tracked users’ locations.
State attorneys general announced the settlement Monday. They’re calling it the largest multistate privacy settlement in U.S history.
Officials say the investigation by the states was spurred by a 2018 Associated Press story. The officials say they found that Google continued to track people’s location data even after they opted out of such tracking.
“Consumer privacy is one of my office’s top priorities. That’s why it’s so important to me that Oregon played a key role in this settlement. Until we have comprehensive privacy laws, companies will continue to compile large amounts of our personal data for marketing purposes with few controls,” said Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum in a statement.
The AG’s Office said that in 2019, Rosenblum formed the Oregon Consumer Privacy Task Force to answer the growing call for legislation that would give consumers more control over their online privacy and require businesses to adhere to basic standards when handling personal information. The task force has now grown into more than 150 participants from a variety of perspectives, the office said.
Central Oregon Daily News contributed.
