Google Paying Out Massive Settlement For People Who Searched Platform Over Seven Years
If you searched Google between 2006 to 2013 you may be entitled to a small payout.
If you used Google during the late 2000s and early 2010s, you may be eligible for compensation. That may sound like one of those late-night medication lawsuit infomercials, but it’s the truth. The search engine giant and tech company is paying out a $23 million settlement to anyone who used its search engine between October 2006 and September 2013.
So, basically, anyone who used the Internet during that seven-year span could get some money from Google. However, this also means that the payout isn’t going to be all that much. According to Futurism, the estimated per-person payout is going to end up being roughly $7.70.
That’s just enough for you to buy a month of Netflix‘s basic tier with ads, but it’s better than nothing. If you used Google between the years 2006 and 2013, which you probably did if you’re reading this article, then you can submit your claim by July 31.
There’s no telling when people might get their money, though, as the tech giant is arguing it has done nothing wrong and the appeals process could easily slow down payouts.
This lawsuit has already been incredibly drawn out, as it was filed against Google over a decade ago. The lawsuit accuses the tech company of violating privacy laws by intentionally storing and divulging search history information to third parties. The lawsuit further states that some of these searches could include sensitive personal information, which increases the risk of identity theft.
Google says it didn’t do anything wrong. But now the company is required to inform users of how their data is used through its FAQ section. Since the lawsuit was filed, data and privacy protection laws like the General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act have been put into place.
So compliance regulations are much stricter than they were back then. Still, it seems obvious that you should be divulging peoples’ search histories without permission, and you shouldn’t really need a law to tell you that.
Google isn’t the only tech giant under additional scrutiny for its privacy and user data sharing in recent months. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, was also ordered to pay out users after a class action settlement was approved in March. That settlement will be to the tune of a whopping $725 million, and anyone who used Facebook between May 2007 and December 2022 is eligible to submit a claim and get a piece of the pie.
Just like the Google lawsuit, there are a ton of people who will likely submit claims, so the individual payout likely won’t be significant. Still, these lawsuits tend to act more as a deterrent against these giant tech companies selling user data rather than as a major reward for consumers. If you want to get a piece of the Facebook lawsuit, you can file by August 25 and don’t forget to file by July 31 if you want to get your chance at some of Google’s money.
