AI News: Google to Destroy Data Records in Privacy Lawsuit Settlement

In settling a lawsuit alleging it surreptitiously monitored the internet activity of users who believed they were browsing in privacy, AI tech giant Google agreed to delete billions of data records. According to a Reuters report, Google had been sued by some of its users who thought the firm hadn’t accessed their data.

Google to Erase Data

In order to resolve a lawsuit alleging that it surreptitiously monitored the internet activity of users who believed they were surfing in private, Google agreed to delete billions of data records.

Google, which has long seen the lawsuit as baseless, was happy to reach a settlement, according to Google spokesman Jose Castaneda.

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AI Tech Giant Google to Not Pay Money in Lawsuit

Reuters also highlights that plaintiffs’ attorneys estimated the agreement’s worth at over $5 billion and as much as $7.8 billion. Users have the option to sue Google individually for damages, but the firm is not paying any.

People claimed that Google improperly tracked users who turned their Chrome browser to “Incognito” mode and other browsers to “private” browsing mode, using Google’s analytics, cookies, and apps.

As part of the settlement, Google will—as it has already started—update its disclosures on the data it gathers during “private” surfing. Additionally, it will grant users of Incognito a five-year restriction on third-party cookies.

Google’s AI Model Also in Question

This isn’t the only roadblock Google is facing at the moment. Previously, Google, a division of Alphabet Inc., announced that it would cease producing photographs of people after facing backlash over how its Gemini AI algorithm handled images based on race. According to reports, Google has acknowledged that they are currently addressing recent problems with the image generating component of Gemini. The business then decided to stop producing human photographs and to soon make available an improved version.

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