ACCC watching US class action over ‘secret’ tracking by Google

The ACCC is watching a US class action accusing Google of tracking users even though their browsers were set to ‘private’.

Google Google is already facing court action in Australia over allegations is misled consumers about the collection of data. Picture: AP

Australia's consumer watchdog says it's closely watching a $US5 billion class action suit in the US involving Google, which allegedly invaded the privacy of millions of users by tracking their internet even though their browsers were set to “private” mode.

A complaint filed in the federal court in California this week alleges the tech giant tracks users and hoovers up their data through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager and other applications and website plug-ins, despite the user being in “incognito” mode.

That data helps Google learn about users’ friends, hobbies, favourite foods, shopping habits, and even the “most intimate and potentially embarrassing things” they search for online, the complaint said.

Google “cannot continue to engage in the covert and unauthorised data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone,” the complaint said.

The lawsuit is seeking at least $US5bn ($7.2bn), and the complaint said the proposed class likely includes “millions” of Google users who since June 1, 2016 browsed the internet in private mode.

Each Google user could be paid out at least $US5,000 for violations of federal wire-tapping and California privacy laws.

An ACCC spokeswoman told The Australian that the watchdog is aware of the legal action, and is keeping a close eye on the proceedings.

"As part of our digital platform services inquiry, the ACCC is monitoring practices of suppliers in digital platform markets which may result in competition or consumer harm," the ACCC spokeswoman said.

"We are also keeping track of developments in markets outside Australia."

Michelle Gallaher, the CEO of ASX-listed health data analytics company Opyl, told The Australian that Google’s alleged breach of trust would have far-reaching consequences across the technology ecosystem.

"We are at a critical crossroads in terms of public trust and data governance, accelerated by COVID19. The whole global data tech sector will be directly affected if Google is found to be in breach, compromising our social licence to operate and our ability to bring new technologies to market,” she said.

"I doubt the tech giants realise the likely far-reaching ramification of a breach of trust across the entire global data tech innovation ecosystem. Our ability to innovate is fundamentally reliant upon public trust."

Google is already facing Federal Court action in Australia, with the ACCC alleging that it misled consumers about the location data it collected. The case could cost the company millions of dollars in fines and force changes to its policies.

The ACCC alleges Google’s menu settings from January 2017 until late 2018 were misleading, including that users’ location data would continue to be sent to Google even if the location history option was switched off.

The tech giant is facing fines of up to $10m, or 10 per cent of annual turnover, if it’s found to have breached Australian consumer law.

The ACCC is also currently busy formulating a mandatory code of conduct for the tech giants, to govern their commercial dealings with media companies.

A Google spokesman told Reuters that the company would defend itself vigorously against the claims.

“As we clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity,” the spokesman said.

ACCC boss Rod Sims has previously criticised the tech giants for understating the extent of their collection of users’ data and overstate the control users have over their personal data use.

“It’s troubling,” Mr Sims said. “Without accurate information consumers are unable to make informed decisions.”

As part of its response to the ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry, the government has said it would review the Privacy Act this year to consider whether broader reform is needed to give users more control over their data.

Additional reporting: Reuters