Google faces lawsuit for unlawful tracking of Android phone users

Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy activist has reportedly filed a lawsuit against US-based Google for illegal tracking of Android phone users.

For long, tech companies such as app developers, phone-makers, and internet browsers have been tracking and storing user data to mint revenue. Every time a user types any keywords on a search engine, dating application, banking platform, it is being collected and linked to the phone owner with unique identifiable codes and create a profile including location, phone ID, financial transaction, and more

And the companies sell the user data to their clients and flood targeted ads according to the phone owner's age, financial condition, companionship status, and other parameters.

Apple first revealed this practice of the app developers during the iOS 12 and introduced Intelligent Tracking Prevention on its Safari browsing app. Fast forward 2021, the Cupertino-based company has brought in a lot of new initiatives including App privacy labels, making it mandatory for apps to voluntarily reveal how much data is being tracked and stored.

In a few days, it is bringing the new iOS 14.5 update with App Tracking Transparency feature, wherein Apple device owners will get the power to completely block all types of tracking with a single button.

Must read | Apple launches easy-to-understand privacy labels for all apps

However, Google, though planning to do away with tracking cookies (that stores user-data) on Chrome by 2022, is accused of not doing enough on this front.

In the complaint filed by Schrems' campaign group Noyb, they accuse Google of not taking full consent and implicitly continues to track and store user data.

Europe has a little over 300 million Android smartphone users. Noyb chose to approach the French data watchdog because its legal system is well suited to handling complaints under the European ePrivacy Directive, Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the aforementioned case.

It should be noted Max Schrems and the team has filed a similar case separately in the home country with the Austrian data protection authority.

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