Alphabet Inc.’s Google has been ordered to pay $314 million in damages after a California jury found the company misused customer cell phone data without permission. The class action lawsuit, filed in 2019 in state court, represented an estimated 14 million Android users in California. The plaintiffs argued that Google collected data from idle Android devices without user consent, using it for internal purposes such as targeted advertising. This activity allegedly consumed users’ mobile data without compensation, which the lawsuit described as “mandatory and unavoidable burdens shouldered by Android device users for Google's benefit.” Glen Summers, Attorney for the Plaintiffs, stated the ruling “forcefully vindicates the merits of this case and reflects the seriousness of Google's misconduct.”
In response to the verdict, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the company plans to appeal. “The verdict misunderstands services that are critical to the security, performance, and reliability of Android devices,” Castaneda said. Google maintained during the trial that no users were harmed and that the data transfers were covered under its terms of service and privacy policies. A similar lawsuit filed in federal court on behalf of Android users in the other 49 states is scheduled to go to trial in April 2026.
