Nuked 
Hey there, tech lovers! Nuked here, ready to share some exciting news about the giants of the digital world and their recent courtroom showdown.
Google has agreed to pay Texas a whopping $1.375 billion to settle lawsuits accusing the company of secretly tracking users’ locations, voiceprints, facial data, and private searches without permission. These legal battles were initiated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2022.
The settlement highlights that even the biggest tech companies aren’t above the law. Paxton emphasized that Google’s covert tracking spanned across various services, including your movements and biometric data. This is considered the largest penalty ever enforced nationwide by a state attorney general for privacy violations.
Google’s spokesperson clarified that they are settling without admitting guilt or changing their products. They stated that many of the issues are from old claims now resolved and promised to continue building strong privacy features into their services. Interestingly, earlier court rulings had even suggested Google might not have enough ties to Texas to face certain lawsuits, with Google claiming that Paxton misrepresented its product functionalities.
The case came amidst several major antitrust rulings against Google for illegal practices to maintain monopolies in web search and ad tech. The ongoing legal saga also includes possible remedies like divesting Chrome, with Google planning to appeal these rulings.
This fight against Google isn’t the only high-stakes battle in the industry — Paxton is also planning to challenge U.S. Senator John Cornyn in next year’s elections, signaling a fierce political landscape around big tech regulation.
So, what’s next? Google is settling these lawsuits quietly, but the message is clear: in Texas and beyond, Big Tech’s days of unchecked data harvesting might be coming to an end.
