This is actually a pretty big revelation. Google wasn’t just spying on users, it was making them pay for the privilege. For years, we’ve focused on privacy when talking about technology, but this case is different. The jury didn’t just say that Google violated privacy, they said Google was literally stealing from users’ wallets.
So what happened? Your Android phone was quietly sending Google information even when you weren’t using it. That data transmission used your cellular plan. So you were paying your phone bill for Google to collect data about you and sell ads.
Those three words, ‘at their expense’, turn this from a privacy issue into a theft issue.
Privacy violations are hard to prove in court, but financial harm? That’s easy to understand and fix. The jury could see exactly how Google was costing users money.
This wasn’t about data collection while you’re actively using apps. This was about Google tiptoeing in, taking information when your phone was just sitting there, supposedly doing nothing. Think about it, you put your phone down, thinking it’s not using data. But Google was secretly using your data plan to feed its advertising business.
Google tried to argue that users agreed to this in their terms of service. The jury basically said ‘Nobody actually reads those things, and even if they did, users didn’t know they’d be paying for it.
So what does this mean going forward? There’s another lawsuit coming that covers the other 49 states. If that goes the same way, we’re talking about billions more in damages.
However, the real impact is bigger than money. This verdict says that the age of ‘free’ services that secretly cost users money is over. Tech companies have gotten away with making users pay hidden costs for years. This verdict acts as a barrier to that.
