FX.co ★ Google faces $5 billion lawsuit for illegal collection of user data

Despite numerous lawsuits, Google continues to collect personal data of its users illegally. The company has been accused many times of illicitly invading the privacy of millions of users by pervasively tracking their internet surf. Besides, billions of dollars in fines have been imposed on the tech giant. However, Google seems to ignore these claims and keep on gathering personal data. This time, Google's parent company Alphabet is facing a lawsuit over tracking their users' even in the private browsing mode. The complaint has been filed in the Federal Court in San Jose, California. The fine against Google may amount to about $5,000 per each user and total $5 billion. According to the complaint, the company gathers data through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager, and other apps regardless of whether users click on Google-private mode. The representatives of the company claim that data collection depends not only on the search engine but also on the website where the user plugs in. "As we clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity," Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesman pointed out. Even if there is a grain of truth in it, the company is unlikely to get away with the complaint. However, experts think that $5,000 per user is a very high fine. Andrey Mironov, the intellectual property lawyer, supposes that the court is likely to lower the fine to $750 per each user. Nevertheless, if the material damage caused by this fee is exceeded, you can claim compensation for this damage. Google will pay some compensation but the sum will be much lower. In any case, even if the fine amounts to $5 billion, it will not affect the financial performance of Google. At the end of 2019, the company had $19 billion in cash in its accounts, and the total capitalization of the company totaled a trillion dollars.