Alphabet owned Google has succeeded in persuading a federal judge in San Francisco to reject a request by consumers seeking more than $2 billion in additional penalties tied to the company’s past data collection practices. The ruling was issued on Friday by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, who declined to order Google to disgorge $2.36 billion in alleged profits or to impose restrictions on certain advertising related data practices. The bid followed a jury verdict delivered in September that found Google liable for secretly collecting application activity data from millions of users who had switched off a key privacy setting designed to limit tracking.
The case stems from claims that Google continued to gather app usage data from users who had disabled a tracking feature, leading to a class action lawsuit covering an estimated 98 million users and 174 million devices. While the jury determined that Google was liable, it awarded approximately $425 million in damages to the plaintiffs, a figure significantly lower than the $31 billion originally sought. The jury also issued an advisory verdict stating that disgorgement of profits was not warranted. In light of that outcome, Google urged Judge Seeborg not to add further financial penalties, arguing that such measures would go beyond the scope of the jury’s findings. The judge agreed, denying the consumers request for disgorgement and rejecting their attempt to impose additional restrictions on Google’s data practices.
In his ruling, Judge Seeborg said the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate any prospective and irreparable harm that would justify a permanent injunction barring Google from continuing to collect certain types of account related data. He also concluded that the consumers had not established a legal entitlement to disgorgement and described their estimate of Google’s alleged profits as insufficiently supported by evidence. Google had argued that blocking its ability to collect account related data would cripple an analytics service relied upon by millions of app developers, potentially disrupting a wide segment of the digital ecosystem. The judge’s decision also rejected Google’s separate request to decertify the class action, leaving intact the class covering millions of users and devices affected by the disputed practices.
Google did not immediately issue a public response to the ruling. However, the company has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has stated that it plans to appeal the September jury verdict. On the other side, David Boies, a lead attorney representing the consumers, said the plaintiffs were thankful that Judge Seeborg’s ruling confirmed the jury’s verdict. The consumers had argued that Google continued to benefit financially from its data collection even after the verdict and claimed that the company had not changed its privacy disclosures or underlying practices. Despite those arguments, the court determined that the legal threshold for additional penalties and injunctive relief had not been met.
The decision highlights the limits courts may place on post verdict remedies in large scale data privacy cases, particularly when juries have already weighed in on damages and advisory findings. While the ruling spares Google from a multibillion dollar financial penalty, it does not resolve the broader legal battle, as the company has signaled its intention to challenge the liability finding on appeal. The case remains closely watched by technology companies, regulators, and privacy advocates, as it reflects ongoing tensions around user consent, data collection, and the role of courts in shaping accountability for digital platforms operating at global scale.
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