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Google faces $5B lawsuit in U.S. for tracking 'private' internet use

20 points by JesseJon 6y ago

levesque 6y ago
Feels like they are blaming Google (Chrome) for Google (search) tracking users altogether? Maybe we need to start legally enforcing "Do not track" browser state?
henriquez 6y ago
The crux of this is that turning on Incognito browsing in Chrome _doesn’t_ turn off Google’s JavaScript trackers (like Google Analytics) on random web pages. I’m no fan of Google in the monopoly sense but this lawsuit is total bullshit. What’s the alternative here? Blast out an HTTP header “HEY IM IN INCOGNITO MODE! DONT TRACK ME!!!”
- CJefferson 6y ago
  I'm not so sure it obvious bullshit. If some company told me I could go "private", then when it turned out they were following me everywhere they said "Oh no, when we said go private we only meant part A of our company, part B is still following you everywhere", then I'd be unhappy. The question is, how do Google advertise incognito mode? At the moment the pages are very minimal, but I am sure they used to make bigger claims in the past (this will of course come up in the case)
  - XCSme 6y ago
    They clearly state when you open an Incognito window: Chrome won't save the following information: Your browsing history Cookies and site data Information entered in forms ---- Your activity might still be visible to: Websites you visit Your employer or school Your internet service provider
merricksb 6y ago
Discussed earlier: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23397045 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23397045 (73 points, 13 hours ago, 36 comments)
BasedCode 6y ago
Do people really believe that private browser modes were intended to protect them from tracking? I thought it was pretty clear that the intention was to hide history activity from users of the same computer.
random_visitor 6y ago
> The lawsuit seeks at least $5 billion, accusing the Alphabet Inc unit of surreptitiously collecting information about what people view online and where they browse, despite their using what Google calls Incognito mode. So, just another iteration of "Let's sue a megacorp"
thedentde 6y ago
It is somewhat sad that -apparently- nowadays it is enough to just think of some (magic) functionality and then you can sue a company if the product does not fulfill this fantasy (even if it clearly says so on every incognito tab you open) But isn't it even more depressing that every tech news outlet has to jump on that craziness and amplify it thereby? Why do wee need to read about this... as if it would be something to consider even vaguely truthful?

20 points by JesseJon 6y ago

Feels like they are blaming Google (Chrome) for Google (search) tracking users altogether? Maybe we need to start legally enforcing "Do not track" browser state?

henriquez 6y ago

The crux of this is that turning on Incognito browsing in Chrome _doesn’t_ turn off Google’s JavaScript trackers (like Google Analytics) on random web pages. I’m no fan of Google in the monopoly sense but this lawsuit is total bullshit. What’s the alternative here? Blast out an HTTP header “HEY IM IN INCOGNITO MODE! DONT TRACK ME!!!”

CJefferson 6y ago
I'm not so sure it obvious bullshit. If some company told me I could go "private", then when it turned out they were following me everywhere they said "Oh no, when we said go private we only meant part A of our company, part B is still following you everywhere", then I'd be unhappy. The question is, how do Google advertise incognito mode? At the moment the pages are very minimal, but I am sure they used to make bigger claims in the past (this will of course come up in the case)
- XCSme 6y ago
  They clearly state when you open an Incognito window: Chrome won't save the following information: Your browsing history Cookies and site data Information entered in forms ---- Your activity might still be visible to: Websites you visit Your employer or school Your internet service provider

merricksb 6y ago

Discussed earlier: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23397045 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23397045 (73 points, 13 hours ago, 36 comments)

BasedCode 6y ago

Do people really believe that private browser modes were intended to protect them from tracking? I thought it was pretty clear that the intention was to hide history activity from users of the same computer.

random_visitor 6y ago

> The lawsuit seeks at least $5 billion, accusing the Alphabet Inc unit of surreptitiously collecting information about what people view online and where they browse, despite their using what Google calls Incognito mode. So, just another iteration of "Let's sue a megacorp"

thedentde 6y ago

It is somewhat sad that -apparently- nowadays it is enough to just think of some (magic) functionality and then you can sue a company if the product does not fulfill this fantasy (even if it clearly says so on every incognito tab you open) But isn't it even more depressing that every tech news outlet has to jump on that craziness and amplify it thereby? Why do wee need to read about this... as if it would be something to consider even vaguely truthful?