Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: Texas, Google settle privacy suit for over $1.3 billion, (May 14, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:Google, LLC
By Jody Coultas, J.D.
The settlement is the largest ever obtained by an attorney general in a privacy suit.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office has reached a $1.375 billion settlement with Google LLC to resolve a lawsuit alleging various violations of the state’s privacy and consumer protection laws. The lawsuit alleged that Google misled, deceived, and withheld material facts from users in Texas about how their location is tracked and used and how to stop Google from monetizing their movements (Google LLC v. State of Texas, No. 13-23-00114-CV (Tex. App. May 14, 2025)).
Background. The complaint alleged that Google uses its deceptive collection of users’ location data from millions of Texans to sell “targeted” advertising designed to exert the maximum influence over those users. Google’s ability to collect all of this data translates into improved advertising capabilities and an outsized share of the multibillion-dollar digital-advertising market, according to the complaint.
Through numerous examples, the suit explains how, for example with a user’s Google account settings, Google deceptively collects and misuses user location data: “Google frames Google Account settings as tools that allow a user to easily control Google’s collection and use of their personal data. The Company’s reassuring statements about these settings misleadingly imply that a user can stop Google from storing or deploying the user’s location information by disabling these settings. But this is not true.” The complaint continues, “Google flouts that control by continuing to collect, store, and use location data regardless of whether the user disables these settings.”
The suit also accused Google of employing so-called “dark patterns”—deceptive design choices that influence a user’s decision-making for Google’s benefit and for the app-designer’s (Google’s) benefit. The use of dark patterns to subvert consumer autonomy was the subject of a recent FTC workshop. Through numerous examples, some partially or completely redacted, the Texas AG’s suit describes the use of dark patterns by Google in Google account and device settings. “For example, users may try to limit Google’s surveillance of their location through the location “master switch” or the app-specific location permission settings. However, after disabling these settings, users are subject to repeated pressuring to re-enable location tracking when using various Google apps.” “During the relevant time period, Google also actively sought to increase the percentage of users who enabled location settings on Android devices by providing vague disclosures and making it more difficult for users to disable these settings.”
Specifically, the complaint alleged that Google engaged in false, misleading and deceptive acts and practices declared unlawful in §§17.46(a) and (b) of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. It requests injunctive relief, restitution, and civil penalties under the Act.
Settlement agreement. The $1.375 billion settlement agreement reached between Texas and Google marks the highest recovery nationwide against Google for any attorney general’s enforcement of state privacy laws.
“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law. For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches, and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won,” said Attorney General Ken Paxton. “This $1.375 billion settlement is a major win for Texans’ privacy and tells companies that they will pay for abusing our trust.”
Similar settlements. In 2022, Attorneys General for 40 states reached a $391.5 million settlement with Google over the same practices. The Attorneys General of Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania reported that their states were to receive approximately $19.5 million, $12 million, and $19.670 million respectively. The aggregate figure represented, at the time, the largest multistate AG privacy settlement in the history of the United States.
Similar suits filed by the Attorneys General of Indiana, Washington, and the District of Columbia remain in litigation.
Companies: Google, LLC
News: Privacy StateUnfairTradePractices TexasNews