TECHNOLOGY NEWS JUNE 2, 2020 / 6:11 PM / UPDATED 33 MINUTES AGO

Google faces $5 billion lawsuit in U.S. for tracking 'private' internet use

Jonathan Stempel
3 MIN READ

(Reuters) - Google was sued on Tuesday in a proposed class action accusing the internet search company of illegally invading the privacy of millions of users by pervasively tracking their internet use through browsers set in “private” mode.

The lawsuit seeks at least $5 billion, accusing the Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) unit of collecting information about what people view online and where they do their browsing, despite using what Google calls Incognito mode.

Google had no immediate comment.

The complaint said Google surreptitiously collects data through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager and other applications and website plug-ins, including smartphone apps, regardless of whether users click on Google-supported ads.

This helps the Mountain View, California-based company learn details about users’ friends, hobbies, favorite foods, shopping habits, and even the “most intimate and potentially embarrassing things” they search for online, the complaint said.

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