The settlement resolves a class-action lawsuit that accused Google of the “unlawful and intentional interception and recording of individuals’ confidential communications without their consent,” as well as the subsequent unauthorized disclosure of those communications to third parties, News.Az reports, citing TechCrunch.
The complaint further alleged that information obtained from the recordings was improperly shared with third parties for targeted advertising and other purposes.
Google did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
The lawsuit focused on so-called “false accepts,” a term used to describe instances in which Google Assistant allegedly activated and recorded users’ conversations even when they had not intentionally triggered the service using a wake word.
Concerns that smart devices may be listening to users without permission have long circulated among the public in the United States, and such suspicions have increasingly led to legal action. In 2021, Apple agreed to pay $95 million to settle claims that its voice assistant, Siri, had recorded users’ conversations without being prompted.
Google, like other major technology companies, has faced multiple privacy-related lawsuits in recent years. In 2024, the company agreed to pay $1.4 billion to the state of Texas to settle two lawsuits alleging violations of the state’s data privacy laws.
