Google LLC misled Android users about how to disable the operating system’s location data collection settings, the Australian Federal Court ruled today.

Regulators reportedly expect that the decision could lead to a fine in the “many millions” of dollars for the search giant. Google, meanwhile, said it might appeal, pointing out that the Federal Court’s ruling also dismissed multiple allegations made by regulators about its data collection practices. 

The ruling came as part of a case filed against the search giant by Australia’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Consumer Committee. The ACCC charged that, between January 2017 and December 2018, the Android menus for opting out of location data collection were set up in a misleading way. That may have made it more difficult for some users to prevent the search giant from tracking their whereabouts, regulators argued. 

From January 2017 to December 2018, when consumers created a Google Account to set up their Android devices, the configuration interface indicated that they could turn off location tracking via the Location History setting. In reality, however, they also had to turn off a second setting called Web & App Activity to disable tracking. Because that wasn’t clearly explained in the account setup interface, some users could have inadvertently kept location tracking enabled on their devices even if they had decided to opt out.

The Federal Court ruling also found that the issue persisted after the initial setup process. Users encountered the same interface ambiguity when they sought to change the location data settings they had earlier configured while setting up their devices. 

The ACCC stated today that it will seek “declarations, pecuniary penalties, publications orders, and compliance orders” in the wake of the ruling. ACCC chair Rod Sims reportedly stated that the watchdog will seek a penalty in the “many millions” of dollars.

“In addition to penalties, we are seeking an order for Google to publish a notice to Australian consumers to better explain Google’s location data settings in the future,” Sims added in a statement on the ACCC website. “This will ensure that consumers can make informed choices about whether certain Google settings that personal collect location data should be enabled.”

Google, for its part, pointed out in a statement to TechCrunch that it successfully contested several of the claims the ACCC had made as part of the case. Google persuaded the Federal Court to dismiss, among other claims, certain allegations related to the purposes for which it collects location data. The Alphabet Inc. subsidiary said that it may appeal the remaining allegations in the future. 

“The court rejected many of the ACCC’s broad claims,” a Google spokesperson said. “We disagree with the remaining findings and are currently reviewing our options, including a possible appeal. We provide robust controls for location data and are always looking to do more — for example we recently introduced auto delete options for Location History, making it even easier to control your data.”

The growing expectations around privacy, among consumers and regulators alike, is affecting not only Android but also Google’s core multibillion-dollar ad business. The company is currently deploying a machine learning technology called FLoC that will reduce the amount of data advertisers can collect about users. FLoC aims to improve privacy without removing brands’ ability to personalize online promotions based on consumers’ interests.  

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