Google dodges ‘£750 payout’ for Brits after court blocks ‘iPhone snooping’ lawsuit
The Californian search engine giant has managed to avoid a legal smackdown – for now
GOOGLE has dodged a major lawsuit that could've seen Brits owed £750 in compensation.
The tech giant was being sued for allegedly collecting personal data from 4.4million iPhone users – but the lawsuit has been overturned.
On Monday morning, the UK's High Court blocked the mass legal action against Google.
The lawsuit hoped to represent millions of Brits who may have had their data inappropriately collected.
It was masterminded by a campaign group called Google You Owe Us, and was led by Richard Lloyd, the former director of Which?.
Campaigners were hoping to win at least £1billion – and potentially more than £3billion – which could've resulted it in a maximum pay-out of nearly £750.
The case was first heard back in May, where campaigners claim Google collected data on users that included:
- Ethnic origin
- Physical health
- Mental health
- Political affiliations/opinions
- Sexuality
- Sexual interests
- Social class
- Financial situation
- Shopping habits
- Geographical location
Campaigners say this information was collected on Apple iPhone handsets between August 2011 and February 2012.
Google allegedly used this ";aggregated" info to separate users into groups – like "football lovers" or ";current affairs enthusiasts".
Advertisers who work with Google were then able to choose targeted audiences based on these groupings.
Hugh Tomlinson QC, who was representing Mr Lloyd in court, said this data was collected through "clandestine tracking and collation".
The data was reportedly obtained by tracking how users browsed the internet on the iPhone's Safari app – Apple's own web browser.
This activity was "exposed" by a PhD researcher in 2012, leading to Google paying a $39.5million fee to settle claims in the USA, the Press Association reports.
But Google successfully argued that Mr Lloyd's "representative action" wasn't appropriate for the claim, and should be blocked.
Lawyers at Google managed to convince Mr Justice Warby that there is no evidence that data obtained was given to third parties.
Instead, the data was simply used to help advertisers target their marketing materials – rather than handing them user info directly.
Google also argued that it's not possible to identify who was affected, making the claim redundant.
A line from the judgement reads: "The main beneficiaries of any award at the end of this litigation would be the funders and the lawyers, by a considerable margin."
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It's possible that Mr Lloyd may now try alternative legal methods to bring action against Google.
Speaking about the ruling, a Google spokesperson told The Sun: "The privacy and security of our users is extremely important to us. This claim is without merit, and we're pleased the Court has dismissed it."
Do you think the court was right to block the claim against Google? Let us know in the comments!
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