The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has filed a lawsuit against Google LLC claiming that the search giant has breached Australian consumer law by misleading consumers about the data it collects.

Claimed to be the first time a regulator anywhere in the world has sued Google over its data collection methods, the suit, filed in the Australian Federal Court, claims that Google misled consumers when it made on-screen representations about the location data it collected. In particular, the ACCC claims that Google continued to collect and use personal data against consumers’ wishes.

“We are taking court action against Google because we allege that as a result of these on-screen representations Google has collected, kept and used highly sensitive and valuable personal information about consumers’ location without them making an informed choice,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said in a statement.

The on-screen representations relate to how Google discloses to consumers what data it collects when they set up a Google account on Android devices, as well as the information provided to consumers who later accessed their Google account settings via an Android device.

Google stands accused of not properly disclosing to consumers that both the “Location History” and “Web & App Activity” settings had to be switched off if consumers didn’t want Google to collect data about them. The ACCC claims that Google did not tell users that by leaving “Web & App Activity” switched on, that data would continue to be collected.

“Many consumers make a conscious decision to turn off settings to stop the collection of their location data, but we allege that Google’s conduct may have prevented consumers from making that choice,” Simms added.

In addition to the core allegation, the ACCC also made several other allegations against Google.

The lawsuit claims that from mid-2018 through to late 2018, Google falsely told consumers that the only way to keep their location data private was not to use Google services even though disabling “Location History” and “Web & App Activity” delivered the same outcome.

Google also stands accused, from March 2017, of falsely representing that location data would be collected and used by Google only for the consumer’s use of Google services. That’s claimed to be false because the data was used for other purposes not related to the direct use of Google’s services.

A spokesperson for Google Australian Pty. Ltd., the local Google office, said that it was “currently reviewing the details of these allegations,” adding that “we continue to engage with the ACCC and intend to defend this matter.”

The lawsuit is seeking relief from Google that includes penalties, declarations, the publication of corrective notices and the establishment of a compliance program.

Photo: Scott Lewis/Flickr