Google finally reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit filed by residents of the United States in 2010, which accused the company of illegally transferring the content of search queries to third parties. While Google pleaded not guilty, it agreed to provide $23 million to settle the case.
Revision of disclosure terms
In addition, Google has agreed to review the content of the Frequently Asked Questions and Key Terms pages regarding how and when search queries may be disclosed to third parties through referrer headers.
Compensation for Google users
In fact, any user of the Google search engine who made queries between October 25, 2006 and September 30, 2013 is eligible for compensation. Applications for participation in the lawsuit can be submitted until July 31, 2023 by submitting an application on the site for the settlement of class actions in the United States. A preliminary estimate indicates that each approved applicant may receive approximately $7.70 in compensation.
Previous settlement attempts
NIX Solutions notes that earlier Google had already tried to settle this lawsuit by paying compensation to the applicants in the amount of $8.5 million. However, the case was nevertheless brought to the Supreme Court. The preliminary settlement agreement was registered in 2022, and a new hearing on its approval is scheduled for October 12, 2023.