In a resounding verdict that’s sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley and beyond, a federal jury in San Francisco has ordered Alphabet Inc.’s Google to pay $425 million in damages after finding the tech giant violated the privacy of millions of users. The decision, delivered on September 3, 2025, marks one of the largest privacy-related awards ever levied against a technology company in the United States, underscoring the growing scrutiny on how personal data is handled by digital platforms.
The lawsuit at the heart of the matter was filed in July 2020, representing a class of approximately 98 million users—spanning 174 million devices—who alleged that Google continued to collect, save, and use their data even after they had explicitly turned off the company’s “Web & App Activity” tracking feature. Over eight years, from 2014 to 2022, these users believed they’d opted out of app activity tracking, only to learn, according to internal documents and expert testimony, that their digital footprints were still being quietly harvested.
“Google is a voyeur extraordinaire,” the original 2020 complaint bluntly stated, as reported by The Record. “Google is always watching. Even when it promises to look away, Google is watching. Every click, every website, every app—our entire virtual lives. Intercepted. Tracked. Logged. Compiled. Packaged. Sold for profit.”
The plaintiffs argued that Google’s privacy policies and the toggles within user accounts were misleading, giving a false sense of control. The Web & App Activity setting, in particular, was presented as a master switch for how Google would use data from searches, location, and activity across third-party apps and devices to personalize advertisements. Yet, as attorneys for the class contended, Google’s analytics services—embedded in hundreds of thousands of apps like Uber, Lyft, Alibaba, Amazon, Instagram, and Facebook—continued to siphon off data even when that setting was switched off.
The jury found Google liable on two key counts: invasion of privacy and intrusion upon seclusion. However, it did not find the company had acted with malice, meaning punitive damages—often a multiplying factor in such cases—were not awarded. Plaintiffs had initially sought more than $31 billion in damages, but the jury settled on the $425 million figure, which privacy advocates have called substantial, especially given the absence of punitive penalties.
Alan Butler, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, emphasized the significance of the jury’s stance. “The jury found that Google did violate their promises and that whatever safeguards they had put in place technologically, it still represented a substantial privacy violation that warranted half a billion dollars in damages,” Butler told The Record. “It’s a huge verdict to win.”
For Google, the verdict was a stinging rebuke, but the company was quick to push back. In a statement provided to Reuters, a spokesperson said, “This decision misunderstands how our products work. Our privacy tools give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalization, we honor that choice.” Google further argued in court that the data collected was “nonpersonal, pseudonymous, and stored in segregated, secured, and encrypted locations,” insisting users had consented to certain data sharing through app permissions and that the Web & App Activity setting merely turned off personalization, not all data collection.
Despite these arguments, the jury was unmoved. The evidence presented highlighted how Google’s ecosystem, powered by analytics tools like Firebase, continued aggregating information to fuel its advertising business, even as users believed they had shut the door on tracking. According to CourtHouse News Service, the class action succeeded in framing the issue as a profound betrayal of consumer trust—a sentiment echoed by many privacy advocates and legal analysts.
David Boies, an attorney for the plaintiffs, expressed satisfaction with the outcome. “We are very pleased with the verdict,” Boies said, according to Silicon UK. The case, certified as a class action by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, covered a vast swath of Google’s user base, amplifying its potential impact on industry practices and future litigation.
The broader implications of the ruling are hard to overstate. As noted by The Times of India, the verdict arrives amid a wave of legal challenges against Google, including recent antitrust suits and a separate $314.6 million penalty in California over Android data misuse. The current case, which was awarded under California’s Invasion of Privacy Act, may set a precedent for stricter judicial oversight of data collection and transparency protocols, especially as federal privacy legislation remains elusive in the United States.
Industry analysts suggest that the decision could embolden further class actions against other tech behemoths, such as Meta and Apple, who face similar accusations regarding opaque data practices. The case also highlights the limitations of self-regulated privacy frameworks—where toggles and settings may not fully halt surveillance, despite user expectations.
For Google, the financial hit, while large, is manageable—a fraction of the company’s quarterly earnings. Yet the reputational damage could linger, prompting internal reforms and potentially forcing a reexamination of how user consent is solicited and respected. The company has already announced its intention to appeal, with a spokesperson reiterating to Reuters that, “We plan to appeal. Our privacy tools give people control over their data.”
Meanwhile, privacy advocates and legal experts see the verdict as a wake-up call for the entire tech sector. “It’s not just about the money,” said Butler of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. “It’s about restoring trust and ensuring that when users make a choice about their privacy, that choice is honored in practice, not just in policy.”
The class-action’s scope—covering nearly 100 million people—underscores just how pervasive the issue of digital privacy has become in everyday life. As the appeal process plays out, all eyes remain on the courts, with the outcome poised to shape the boundaries of digital privacy and corporate accountability for years to come.
The verdict against Google stands as a milestone in the ongoing battle over user data, trust, and the true meaning of privacy in the digital age.
