For a second time this week, Google has faced a massive legal setback in the US. Earlier this week, a judge found that Google had lied to the court and destroyed evidence in an antitrust case. Now, in a separate issue, Google failed to comply with a court order from 2022.
A US court sanctioned Google LLC for for the second time this week, after a judge said in an unsealed decision on Wednesday that the Alphabet Inc subsidiary took too long to comply with a judgement in a data-privacy class action last year.
The ruling was issued by US Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen in San Jose, California, in response to a class action alleging that Google illegally monitored its users while they were using its Chrome browsers in private, or “incognito,” mode.
Also read: Google destroyed evidence and repeatedly gave false info to court, finds US federal judge
Separately, on Tuesday in California, US District Judge James Donato ruled that Google failed to retain workers’ “chat” logs as proof in an antitrust action. Donato stated that the lawyers for the plaintiffs will be granted legal expenses in a sum to be decided later. Google is disputing the allegations.
Google has stated that its Chrome browser users consented to the company’s data gathering in the data privacy lawsuit. According to a Google spokesperson, the firm “provided and disclosed countless documents and discovery.”
Van Keulen’s punishment in the data protection lawsuit is not the first time he has penalised Google in the same case.
According to the newest decision, Google failed to comply with a limit set by a court order last year that imposed sanctions on the business. The new sanctions order, as well as the previous one from May 2022, addressed internal Google proof about customer’s usage of the company’s private browsing option.
According to the judge’s ruling, Google will be prohibited from depending on certain staff witnesses in the case. Van Keulen also stated that Google must pay the costs of two specialists hired by the plaintiffs, as well as a $79,000 fine.
The customer claimants are seeking an order requiring Google to delete confidential browsing details, among other things. A hearing is planned for November.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.