Google has agreed to pay 68 million dollars to settle a class‑action lawsuit alleging its Google Assistant secretly recorded private conversations and sent them to advertisers. The settlement was filed in a federal court in California and must be approved by Judge Beth Labson Freeman. The lawsuit claims that the assistant sometimes activates inadvertently, records the user’s voice, and forwards the audio to Google servers where it can be analyzed. Plaintiffs argue the recordings were then shared with advertising partners. The settlement will be divided among many claimants who have owned Google devices since May 2016; attorneys could receive up to one‑third of the total as fees. The case follows a similar Apple settlement of 95 million dollars over alleged unauthorized recording by Siri. No wrongdoing was admitted by Google. The settlement represents a financial resolution to privacy concerns raised by users.
Economy
Google to Pay $68 Million for Alleged Secret Recording of Users' Conversations
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