Google has recognized its surveillance of users

In fact, Google was getting location information from users even if they turned off geolocation settings. Employees of the company said that as a last resort, data collection was carried out through third-party applications, including those not associated with Google, and via Wi-Fi, - the website of the radio station Ekho Moskvy notes.

The corporation also urged manufacturers to "hide" privacy settings from users, allowing "active distortion and (or) concealment of facts", the Izvestia newspaper reports.

Google spokesman José Castaneda denies such allegations: "Our competitors in this lawsuit tried their best to mischaracterize our services. We have always included privacy features in our products and provided robust location management tools".

In the summer of last 2020, several US citizens filed a lawsuit over the use of personal data without their permission against not only Google, but also Amazon and Microsoft. The proceedings were also going on in Australia. There, on April 16, a local federal court ruled that Google had misled users about its use of location data. The created commission intends to seek the issuance of the reasoning part of the court decision, monetary fines and a prescriptive ruling. Complaints against Google were also filed in Austria.