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STATE OF INDIANA ) IN THE MARION SUPERIOR COURT
)
COUNTY OF MARION ) CAUSE NO.______________________
STATE OF INDIANA, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
)
GOOGLE LLC, )
)
Defendant. )
COMPLAINT FOR CIVIL PENALTIES, INJUNCTION, RESTITUTION,
DISGORGEMENT, COSTS AND OTHER RELIEF
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 3
PARTIES ............................................................................................................................ 6
JURISDICTION AND VENUE ......................................................................................... 7
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS ............................................................................................. 7
A. Google’s Business Model Relies on Constant Surveillance of Its
Users……………………………………………………………………………..….….7
1. Overview of Google's Location-Related Settings………...………………...…...8
2. Collection of Data Via Google Products and Services…………….……………9
3. Value of Location Data……………………………………………….….…….11
B. Google Consumers Must Navigate Numerous, Conflicting Controls to Protect Their
Privacy…………………………………………………………….…………………..12
1. Location-Related Google Account Settings...................................................... 12
2. Location-Related Device Settings ..................................................................... 14
C. Google Deceives Consumers Regarding Their Ability to Protect Their Privacy
Through Google Account Settings. .............................................................................. 16
1. Google Misrepresented and Omitted Material Facts Regarding the Location
History and Web & App Activity Settings. ...................................................... 16
2. Google Misrepresents and/or Omits Material Facts Regarding Users’ Ability to
Control Their Privacy through Google Account Settings. ............................... 25
3. Google Misrepresents and Omits Material Facts Regarding the Google Ad
Personalization Setting. .................................................................................... 29
D. Google Deceives Consumers Regarding Their Ability to Protect Their Privacy
Through Device Settings......................................................................................... 30
E. Google Deploys Deceptive Practices that Undermine Consumers’ Ability to Make
Informed Choices About Their Data....................................................................... 32
1. Dark Patterns in Google Account Settings ....................................................... 33
2. Dark Patterns in Device Settings. ..................................................................... 38
CAUSES OF ACTION ..................................................................................................... 42
PRAYER FOR RELIEF ................................................................................................... 48
JURY DEMAND .............................................................................................................. 50
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The State of Indiana (“Indiana”), through the Attorney General Theodore E. Rokita, by
Deputy Attorneys General Douglas Swetnam, Vanessa Voigt Gould, and Jennifer Van Dame,
brings its Complaint against Google LLC (“Google” or the “Company”) pursuant to the Indiana
Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-1 et seq. (“DCSA”) for civil penalties,
injunctive relief, consumer restitution, disgorgement, costs and other relief.
INTRODUCTION
Indiana’s DCSA “shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its purposes
and policies.” Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-1(a).
The purposes and policies of the DCSA include protecting “consumers from
suppliers who commit deceptive and unconscionable sales acts” and encouraging “the
development of fair consumer sales practices”. Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-1(b).
This action is brought against Google for their use of deceptive and unfair acts and
practices to obtain valuable consumer location data, in violation of Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-3.
Google is primarily known as a technology company, which provides a range of
consumer products, including the Android operating system, web-based services and applications
(like Gmail and the Google Search engine), and hardware such as Pixel and Nexus smartphones.
The majority of Google’s revenues, however, derive from targeted advertising and advertising
analytics. To support this lucrative arm of its business, Google harvests consumers’ personal data,
including location data, when consumers use Google products. In turn, Google uses this data to
“target” advertisements to consumers and to evaluate the effectiveness of these advertisements.
From at least 2014 through the present, Google has systematically misled, deceived,
and withheld material facts from consumers regarding how their location is tracked and used by
the Company, and how and to what extent consumers can protect their privacy by stopping
Google’s tracking and use of their location. Google leads consumers to believe that they are in
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control of what information Google retains about them and how it is used. In reality, there is
effectively no way for consumers to prevent Google from collecting, storing, and profiting from
their location data.
Location data is among the most sensitive information Google collects from
consumers. Even a limited amount of such data, aggregated over time, can expose a person’s
identity and routines. Location can also be used to infer sensitive personal details, such as political
or religious affiliation, sexual orientation, income, health status, or participation in support groups,
as well as major life events, such as marriage, divorce, and the birth of children.
Location data is even more powerful in the hands of Google, a company that has
an unprecedented ability to monitor consumers’ daily lives due to the ubiquity of Google products
in consumers’ pockets, homes, and workplaces—essentially everywhere consumers go. Google’s
technologies allow it to analyze location data from billions of people, along with massive amounts
of other data, to derive insights that consumers may not even realize they revealed. Google uses
this window into consumers’ lives to sell “targeted” advertising that is designed to exert the
maximum influence over them, reaping spectacular gains at the expense of consumers’ privacy.
Google has a powerful financial incentive to obscure the details of its location data
collection practices and to make it difficult for consumers to opt out of being tracked. Google’s
ability to amass data about multitudes of consumers as they move throughout the world translates
to improved advertising capabilities for the Company and an outsized share of the multi-billion-
dollar digital advertising market. The Company’s exhaustive surveillance practices are most
effective, and therefore most lucrative, where consumers have no clear idea how to limit Google’s
access to their personal information.
The State of Indiana files this suit to correct the deceptive and unfair practices that
Google has used to obtain consumers’ location data and to ensure that consumers are able to both
understand and control the extent to which their personal data—in particular, their location—is
accessed, stored, used, and monetized by the Company.
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Some of the issues giving rise to this lawsuit became broadly known to the public
on August 13, 2018, when the Associated Press (“AP”) reported that Google “records your
movements even when you explicitly tell it not to.” The reporting concerned Google’s “Location
History” setting, a user control which allows Google to track a consumer’s location. Google
promised consumers that “with Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored.” See
https://apnews.com/article/north-america-science-technology-business-ap-top-news-
828aefab64d4411bac257a07c1af0ecb (last accessed January 21, 2022).
The AP story exposed that Google’s promise to consumers was false. Even when
consumers had explicitly opted out of location tracking through the Location History setting,
Google nevertheless recorded consumers’ locations via other means, including (but not limited to)
a separate setting called “Web & App Activity.” When the Web & App Activity setting is enabled
on a consumer’s Google Account, Google collects and stores a large swath of data about that
consumer, including location data, whenever the consumer interacts with Google products and
services. Although the Web & App Activity setting is automatically enabled for all Google
Accounts, the Company’s disclosures during Google Account creation did not mention or draw
consumers’ attention to this setting until 2018.
In the days following the AP report,
Multiple states subsequently commenced an investigation into Google’s location
tracking practices. The states’ investigation revealed that while Google purports to offer consumers
meaningful choices as to the data Google collects and uses through customizable controls,
Google’s ambiguous, contradictory, and incomplete statements about these controls all but
guarantee that consumers will not understand when their location is retained by Google or for what
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purposes. In fact, Google’s claims to give consumers “control” and respect their “choice” largely
serve to obscure the reality that, regardless of the settings they select, consumers have no option
but to allow the Company to collect, store, and use their location data.
With this suit, the State of Indiana seeks to put a stop to Google’s deceptive and
unfair practices; to ensure that consumers are no longer coerced into trading away their privacy;
to force Google to disgorge all profits and benefits obtained from its unlawful practices; and to
impose civil penalties for Google’s violations of the DCSA.
PARTIES
The Attorney General is authorized to bring actions on behalf of the State of Indiana
pursuant to Ind. Code § 4-6-3-2.
The Attorney General is authorized to bring this particular action and to seek
injunctive and other statutory relief pursuant to Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-4.
Pursuant to Trial Rule 65(C), the State of Indiana by the Attorney General, as a
government entity, need not post security to obtain injunctive relief.
Google is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business
at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California, 94043.
Google is also a foreign limited liability company registered with the Indiana
Secretary of State.
Google regularly markets, advertises, offers, and provides its products and services
throughout the United States and to Indiana consumers.
On information and belief, the number of Indiana consumers Google regularly
engages in consumer transactions with is in the millions.
At all relevant times Google acted with the knowledge and understanding that the
activities described in this Complaint would affect consumers of Google’s products and services
throughout the United States, including in Indiana.
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JURISDICTION AND VENUE
Google was and remains involved in consumer transactions in Indiana, as defined
by Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-2.
Google is registered as a foreign limited liability company with the Indiana
Secretary of State.
Google, having purposefully directed its activities toward Indiana residents as
detailed below, is subject to the jurisdiction of an Indiana court pursuant to Ind. Trial R. 4.4(A)(1).
Google transacted business within Indiana at all times relevant to this Complaint.
Google caused events to occur in Indiana out of which the claims detailed in this
Complaint arose.
Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to Ind. Trial R. 75(A)(10).
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
A. Google’s Business Model Relies on Constant Surveillance of Google
Consumers.
Through its many consumer products, Google collects and analyzes the personal
and behavioral data of billions of people. In turn, the Company uses this information to build user
profiles and provide analytics that support Google’s digital advertising business.
On information and belief, Google’s advertising products generated nearly $150
billion in revenue in 2020.
1. Overview of Google’s Location-Related Settings.
Google’s products include a system of interconnected settings that allow Google to
collect a consumer’s location data. These settings, individually and collectively, are in many cases
deceptive, and their use by Google to collect a consumer’s location data is unfair and deceptive.
Generally, the settings can be separated into three categories: (1) device-level, (2)
account-level, and (3) app-level. Several of these settings are defaulted to allow the collection of
location data. As seen with Location History (account-level) and Web & App Activity (account-
level), supra 11, the settings can also directly contradict each other, so that when a consumer
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disables location tracking on one setting, another setting may still be tracking the consumer’s
location.
Device-level settings are specific settings to an individual device, like a phone or
tablet. The device-level settings at issue in this Complaint are specific to the Android operating
system and/or devices marketed and sold by Google, like a Chromebook. While a consumer may
use the same Google Account on many devices, the device-level settings can be turned on or off
for a specific device. For example, a consumer might turn off the device-level location settings on
her Pixel phone, but turn on these settings for her tablet.
Account-level settings apply to data collected from any device signed in
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to a
consumer’s Google Account.
App-level settings are specific settings for an app. For example, Google Maps has
its own app-level settings. An app-level setting can also apply to third-party apps that are installed
on an Android device.
While there have been changes to settings over the years, below is a table of the
settings relevant to this Complaint:
Category
Description
Device-level
setting
This setting is the main location setting on a device
and controls whether a device's location setting is on.
When it is on, GPS is used to obtain a consumer's
location.
Device-level
setting
When turned on, this setting purportedly helps
Google improve the Android operating system
("OS"). It collects the consumer’s IP addresses,
which can be used to infer location.
Device-level
setting
This setting allows apps and services to obtain Wi-
Fi scans even when the Wi-Fi setting is off.
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A device (or consumer) is “signed in” to Google if the consumer has signed into the
consumer’s Google Account at device set-up or in connection with a Google app.
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Device-level
setting
Like Wi-Fi Scanning, this setting allows apps and
services to obtain Bluetooth scans even when the
Bluetooth setting is off.
Account-level
setting
When on, this setting captures all the places where a
signed-in consumer goes. This location information
is then used to create a personalized map for that
consumer. It is a background setting that runs
regardless of the apps being used.
Account-level
setting
When this setting is on, Google saves a consumer's
Google activity. For example, when a consumer uses
Google Search or Google Maps to search for
"restaurants near me," Google collects the search
term as well as information about that activity, such
as a consumer's location and IP address.
Account-level
setting
When off, this setting purports to prevent Google
from targeting a consumer with ads based on the
consumer's location.
App-level setting
When on, this setting gives an app permission to
access the corresponding device's location.
2. Collection of Location Data Via Google Products and Services.
Much of Google’s location data collection occurs by way of Google’s Android
operating system (“Android” or “Android OS”). Android has been used on a majority of
smartphones in the United States since approximately 2015.
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The Android operating system is free
and open-source software. However, most Android devices on the market include a suite of Google
apps and application programming interfaces (“APIs”)
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(collectively, “Google Mobile Services”)
that are preinstalled on a consumer’s device under a licensing agreement between Google and
Android device manufacturers (“OEMs”).
2
The smartphone market is generally split between two operating systems (“OS”), Apple’s
“iOS” and Google’s Android OS. Apple’s iOS is used on all iPhone and iPad devices.
3
An API is a software interface that connects computers or pieces of software to each other.
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The basic functioning of the Android OS provides Google with a steady stream of
location data from Android devices. Through sensors and APIs installed on Android devices,
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Google can track the precise location of a device and its owner on a continuous basis, using GPS
coordinates, cell tower data, Wi-Fi signals, and other signals that the device transmits to Google.
Beyond Android devices, Google collects location data through other consumer
products including apps and web-based services, such as Google Search, Google Maps, Chrome
web browser, YouTube, Google Play Store, and Google Assistant, many of which can be used on
both Android and Apple iOS devices (such as iPhones). These products are also critical to Google’s
ability to extract location data. Google collects and stores consumers’ location data when they
interact with certain Google apps and services, even when a consumer’s location is not needed to
support the core functionality of the app or service.
On Android devices, certain Google apps are granted permission to collect
consumers’ location data by default. Other Google apps ask permission from consumers to allow
Google to collect location data. On many versions of Android, once apps are permitted to collect
a consumer’s location data, they may continue to collect and transmit location data to Google
unless and until the consumer remembers to revoke permission.
And if a consumer elects not to
grant permission, an app may continue to prompt the consumer to enable location-related settings.
On Android devices, a user can also disable a “master switch” location setting that
controls whether the device transmits location data from device sensors to Google. However, if a
user takes this step, they cannot use any location-enabled services on their device, including
location-enabled services on non-Google apps (such as Uber).
Furthermore, even if a consumer disables settings that allow their device to transmit
location data to Google, Google still continues to estimate a consumer’s location by using IP
4
As used herein, the term “Android device” refers to mobile devices that use Google’s Android
OS and that come pre-installed with Google-licensed software and APIs (Google Mobile
Services), including the Google Play Store and Google Play Services API.
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address
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information that is transmitted when the consumer interacts with many Google apps and
services.
3. Value of Location Data.
Some of Google’s consumer products can be used at no direct financial cost to the
consumer. But that does not mean that Google provides these products for free. Instead of charging
money for its products, Google collects exhaustive personal data about its consumers when they
engage with Google products. Google processes this data to draw inferences about individuals and
groups of consumers that it monetizes through advertising and other services.
Google’s advertising business is dependent on its collection of this personal data,
and location data is particularly valuable information for this business.
In marketing materials directed at advertisers, Google actively
promotes its ability to provide better advertising services through location-based analytics and geo-
targeted consumer advertising.
Because location data is key to Google’s lucrative advertising business, the
Company has a strong financial incentive to dissuade consumers from withholding access to that
data. As detailed herein, Google has employed and continues to employ a number of unfair,
abusive, and/or deceptive acts, omissions, and/or practices to obtain consumers’ “consent” to be
tracked and to make it nearly impossible for consumers to stop Google from collecting their
location data when using Google products. These practices include privacy-intrusive default
location settings, hard-to-find location settings, misleading descriptions of location settings,
5
An IP address is a unique address that identifies a device on the internet or a local
network. IP stands for “Internet Protocol.”
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repeated nudging to enable location settings, and incomplete disclosures of Google’s location data
collection and processing.
In one striking example,
B. Google Consumers Must Navigate Numerous, Conflicting Controls to Protect
Their Privacy.
Google consumers must navigate numerous, conflicting settings that purport to
control when and how Google collects, stores, and uses their location information. As noted above,
account-level settings apply to data collected from any device signed in to a consumer’s Google
Account. In contrast, device-level settings apply only to the specific device on which the setting
appears.
1. Location-Related Google Account Settings.
Google’s collection and use of location data is subject to at least three Google
Account settings: Location History, Web & App Activity, and Google Ad Personalization
(“GAP”).
Location History
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is a Google Account feature that captures all the places where a
signed-in consumer goes.
Location
History has existed in some form since approximately 2009.
6
For purposes of this Complaint, Location History is a specific Google feature and not a generic
term for a consumer’s location data.
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Using this information, Google builds a
“private map” of all the places a consumer has been, which the consumer can review and edit.
The primary value of Location History data for Google, however, lies in its
advertising uses. Google
These inferences inform what advertising Google will present to that
consumer.
In addition, Google uses Location History data to provide advertisers with “store
conversion” rates—i.e., the number of consumers who have viewed ads and then visited the
advertised store. Google’s ability to track consumers in the physical world after they click on
digital ads is a unique selling point for its advertising business.
Web & App Activity is a separate Google Account setting that collects, stores, and
monetizes consumers’ locations. Whereas Location History collects location information on all of
a consumer’s movements, Web & App Activity records a consumer’s “transactional location”: that
is, the location of a consumer’s device when the consumer is signed in and interacting with certain
Google products.
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For example, when a consumer conducts a search for “chocolate chip cookie
recipe” while signed in on the Google Search app, Google collects the consumer’s location at the
time of the search, along with details about the search, and stores that information to the Web &
App Activity log for that consumer. Later, if the consumer searches for an address on Google
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As used herein, “precise location” refers to the consumer’s exact longitude and latitude.
8
A “supplemental” Web & App Activity setting also collects and stores information about the
consumer’s interactions with non-Google apps and with non-Google websites on Google’s
Chrome browser.
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Maps, Google again stores the consumer’s location at the time of that search, along with details
such as what was searched, to the same log.
Google uses Web & App Activity data to make deductions about the consumer’s
habits and interests for advertising purposes. Google’s ability to target ads to consumers based on
information about their locations is critical to the success of its 150 billion-dollar advertising
business.
Location History and Web & App Activity are independent settings. Disabling one
setting does not impact whether a consumer’s location data is collected and stored pursuant to the
other setting. Practically, this means that even if a consumer prevents location tracking by one of
these services, Google still tracks and monetizes the consumer’s location through the other. Until
recently, Google kept the data stored in connection with these settings indefinitely, unless the
consumer manually deleted the data.
Google also offers consumers a Google Account setting related to personalized
advertising—the GAP setting. The GAP setting purports to provide signed-in consumers the ability
to opt out of personalized ads served by Google. Google told consumers that leaving this setting
enabled would mean that, “Google can show you ads based on your activity on Google services
(ex: Search, YouTube), and on websites and apps that partner with Google.” By implication,
consumers who do not want Google to serve them ads based on their activity on Google products
should be able to opt out by disabling this setting. However, Google continues to target ads to a
consumer based on a consumer’s location even if the consumer opts out of ads personalization by
disabling the GAP setting.
2. Location-Related Device Settings.
While the Location History, Web & App Activity, and GAP settings apply across
all devices associated with a consumer’s Google Account, there are additional settings related to
location data that apply only to a consumer’s specific device. Location-related device settings
control whether a specific device can transmit location information to apps, APIs, or other services
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on the consumer’s device. Android devices have a number of different location-related device
settings.
First, Android devices have a location “master switch” that controls whether the
device can share the device’s location with any other apps on the device.
When this “master
switch” is enabled, apps and services can request and access the device’s location. If a consumer
disables this setting on their device, then no apps or services can access the device’s location.
Second, Android devices have “app-specific” location settings. Using these device
settings, consumers can grant or deny a specific app, such as Google Maps or Uber, permission to
access the device’s location. On some versions of Android, apps with permission to access device
location could access a consumer’s location in the background (i.e., even when the app was not in
use).
On Android devices, these two types of settings also control the flow of location
information to Google. For example, enabling the location “master switch” allows Google to
“periodically” collect and use location from the consumer’s device in order to improve a Google
platform called Google Location Services.
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Android mobile devices also have other settings that purportedly control access to
specific types of location data. For example, Android consumers can control whether their device
scans for nearby Wi-Fi access points or Bluetooth devices, which can help Google interpret the
consumer’s location.
Certain versions of the Android OS also include “Low Battery” and “High
Accuracy” modes that control whether Google uses Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular signals, and Google
Location Services, in addition to GPS, to ascertain the consumer’s precise location.
In order to protect their privacy, consumers must understand the nuanced and
interrelated functions of both account-level settings and device-level settings. This complex web
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Google Location Services is also referred to as Google Location Accuracy.
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of settings misleads consumers into believing that they are not sharing their location with Google
when in fact they are.
C. Google Deceives Consumers Regarding Their Ability to Protect Their
Privacy Through Google Account Settings.
One way that Google misleads consumers regarding their location data is through
Google Account settings. As a result of deceptive and unfair practices with respect to these
settings, Google has collected enormous amounts of location data from unwitting consumers and
then monetized that data in the service of Google’s advertising offerings without consumers’
knowledge or consent.
1. Google Misrepresented and Omitted Material Facts Regarding the
Location History and Web & App Activity Settings.
Google misrepresented and omitted material information regarding the Location
History and Web & App Activity settings from at least 2014 to at least 2019. These
misrepresentations and omissions confused consumers about which settings implicate location
data, enabling Google to capture, store, and use such data without consumers’ knowledge or
consent.
For years, on a public webpage regarding Location History, Google assured
Android consumers that “[y]ou can turn off Location History at any time. With Location History
off, the places you go are no longer stored.” Google similarly explained that Apple consumers
could log into their online Google account and select “Stop storing location” in order to turn off
Location History, and that turning Location History off would “stop[] saving new location
information.” Google thus presented Location History as the setting that controlled whether
Google stored location information about a consumer. That representation was false.
Even when Location History was off, Google continued to collect and store
consumers’ locations. Depending on a consumer’s other settings, Google collected and stored a
consumer’s location data through Web & App Activity, Google apps on the consumer’s device,
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scans from the consumer’s device, Google’s Location Services feature, the
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consumer’s IP address, and
Google’s statements prompting consumers to turn on Location History also falsely
implied that this setting alone controlled whether Google stores a consumer’s location. For
example, at various times, Google told consumers that enabling Location History “lets Google
save your location;” allows Google to “store and use” the “places you go;” permits Google to
“periodically store your location;” “allows Google to store a history of your location;” or allows
Google “to save and manage your location information in your account.” These representations
omit the material fact that Google collected and saved consumers’ location data when using
Google products regardless of whether the consumer enabled or disabled Location History.
Google’s misstatements and omissions regarding Location History were
exacerbated by separate misstatements and omissions in connection with the Web & App Activity
setting. Specifically, Google did not disclose to consumers that even when Location History is not
enabled, the Company still collects, stores, and uses location data through the Web & App Activity
feature.
As detailed above, Web & App Activity collects location data when a consumer
interacts with certain Google products. For example, if a consumer asks Google Assistant to search
for the author of a book, Web & App Activity would save the consumer’s location and the time
when the query was made. Google also collects and stores information that could implicitly reveal
a consumer’s location, such as which places the consumer inputs into Google Maps.
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The 2018 AP story illustrated the extent of Google’s location tracking through Web
& App Activity. The report provided an interactive map of the data Google collected from the AP
investigator’s device when Web & App Activity was enabled but Location History was disabled.
The resulting map reflected that in only eight hours, Google captured almost two dozen precise,
time-stamped GPS coordinates. See map:
See https://interactives.ap.org/google-location-tracking/ (last accessed January 21, 2022).
Further, the interactive map allowed the viewer to zoom in on more precise
locations that Google was tracking, despite Location History being turned off. From the interactive
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map, the viewer can see that the researcher spent time at Central Park’s The Pond before heading
to the Chelsea Market and then to Hell’s Kitchen on July 15, 2018. See example:
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See https://interactives.ap.org/google-location-tracking/ (last accessed January 21, 2022).
Google recognizes that the location of individual consumers over time constitutes
sensitive information. Despite this, Google concealed the material fact that the Company collects,
stores, and uses location data when Web & App Activity is enabled. Consumers could not avoid
Google’s deceptive and unfair storage and use of their location because it occurred without their
knowledge.
Google concealed from consumers that the Web & App Activity setting controlled
Google’s storage and use of their location information in at least three ways.
First, Google did not disclose the Web & App Activity setting when consumers set
up Google Accounts for the first time. At this stage, the Web & App Activity setting is defaulted
“on” for new Google Accounts. Thus, a consumer who sets up a Google Account is automatically
opted-in to location tracking via Web & App Activity. Until 2018, the Google Account set-up
process made no mention of the Web & App Activity setting.
21
Furthermore, Android phones effectively require a consumer to sign in to a Google
Account,
10
and Google apps like Search and Maps were (and are) granted location permission on
Android devices by default. As a result, Google could begin to track Android consumers’ locations
without ever presenting consumers with an option to opt out.
One of the only ways consumers would even become aware that Web & App
Activity was storing location data was if they happened to navigate to a separate webpage where
Google recorded data stored under the Web & App Activity setting, called “My Activity.” But
when consumers first landed on this webpage, Location History was presented as the only setting
that related to location data. See:
(Text above: “Places you’ve been[:] Google Location History lets Google save your location to
provide benefits like improved map searches and tailored commute information.”)
10
A consumer must sign in to a Google Account on their Android device to access the Google
Play application (“app”) store, which is needed to download new apps or to receive app updates
that enable apps to continue to function properly and safely. Once Android consumers sign into
their Google Account, consumers must fully remove their Google Account(s) from their device in
order to sign their device out of Google.
22
In 2018, Google revised its Google Account set-up process to reference Web &
App Activity. However, the Company continued to conceal from new consumers that location data
was captured by the setting. Until at least mid-2018, this information was only revealed to new
consumers who first clicked on a link to see “More options” and then selected a second link to
“Learn More” about the Web & App Activity setting.
(Text above: “Web & App Activity[:] Saves your searches, Chrome browsing history and
activity from sites and apps that use Google services. This gives you better search results,
suggestions and personalization across Google services.”)
Second, Google failed to disclose the Web & App Activity setting to consumers
when they set up new devices using existing Google Accounts. The “enabled” or “disabled” status
of a consumer’s Web & App Activity setting applies to all devices signed in to the consumer’s
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Google Account. Thus, any time a consumer signed any device in to an existing Google Account,
Google could begin tracking that device as long as Web & App Activity was enabled on the
consumer’s Google Account. Because Android devices need to be signed in to Google to use
critical functionalities, and consumers sign in to Google at device set-up, Google was able to track
Android consumers via Web & App Activity as soon as they set up new devices on their Google
Accounts, without notifying those consumers.
Third, once consumers set up a Google Account or linked new devices to their
Google Account, they were unlikely to discover the location tracking nature of Web & App
Activity settings. Google did not identify Web & App Activity as a location-related setting in the
places where a consumer would expect to find that information. For example, until around 2019,
consumers who explored location settings on their Android devices would not find Web & App
Activity listed among them. Likewise, a Google webpage titled “Manage your Android’s device
location settings” described Google’s location-based settings and discussed Location History
without mention of the Web & App Activity setting.
Google’s Privacy Policies also omitted mention of the Web & App Activity setting.
For instance, the December 18, 2017 version of Google’s Privacy Policy lists examples of
information about “your actual location” that Google “may collect and process.” These examples
include a specific mention that “Location History allows Google to store a history of your location
data,” but makes no reference to the Web & App Activity setting.
Putting aside the placement of Google’s statements, many of Google’s affirmative
disclosures regarding Web & App Activity also failed to disclose that this setting authorized
Google to store and use location data. Google routinely described the Web & App Activity setting
as allowing the Company to store and use Google search history, Chrome web browser activity,
and activity on Google apps—without mention of location (unless the user clicked on a link to a
pop-up window for more information).
24
In sum, Google misrepresented that disabling Location History stopped Google
from storing a consumer’s location and concealed that the Web & App Activity setting also stored
location data, which mislead consumers to believe that the Web & App Activity setting did not
impact collection, storage, or use of location data; that the Location History setting alone
controlled whether Google retained and used location data; and that disabling the Location History
setting would prevent Google from retaining and using the consumer’s locations on an ongoing
basis.
These misrepresentations and omissions were material to Indiana Google
consumers, as demonstrated by, among other things, consumers’ and Google’s response to the
public revelation in the 2018 AP article that Google “store[s] your location data even if you’ve
used a privacy setting that says it will prevent Google from doing so.”
Within Google, a self-titled “Oh Shit” meeting was convened the day the AP story
was published to begin brainstorming responses to the article. Soon after, Google CEO Sundar
Pichai and other senior executives became directly involved in crafting the Company’s response.
After the AP story, Google updated its help page to remove the misleading disclosure “With
Location History off, the places you go are no longer stored.”
The AP article set off a frenzy of negative press coverage.
25
In internal discussions, Google employees agreed that Google’s disclosures
regarding Location History were confusing. admitted the disclosures
were “definitely confusing.”
Another Google employee stated that the consumer interface for
Google Account settings “feels like it is designed to make things possible, yet difficult enough that
people won’t figure it out.” admitted, “I did not know Web and
App Activity had anything to do with location.”
Yet Google did not act to
clarify the Web & App Activity and Location History settings until after the Company’s pervasive
misconduct was made public.
2. Google Misrepresents and/or Omits Material Facts Regarding Consumers’
Ability to Control Their Privacy through Google Account Settings.
Google further misleads consumers about its location tracking practices by
misrepresenting and omitting material facts regarding the extent to which Google Account settings
prevent Google’s collection and use of location data. Google seemingly offers simple “privacy
controls” to attract consumers but continues to exploit consumers’ location data regardless of their
choices with respect to these settings.
Since at least 2014, Google has made misleading promises that consumers can
control the information that Google collects, stores, and uses about them by adjusting their Google
Account settings. In numerous iterations of Google’s Privacy Policies and other disclosures,
Google has pointed to Google Account settings as features that, for example, allow consumers to
make “meaningful choices about how [the information Google collects] is used;” “control the
collection of personal information;” “decide what types of data…[they] would like saved with
26
[their] account when [they] use Google services;” or “make it easier for [them] to see and control
activity that’s saved to [their] account and how it’s used.” See:
Since May 25, 2018, Google’s Privacy Policy has explained that “across our
services, you can adjust your privacy settings to control what we collect and how your information
is used.” In its Terms of Service and Privacy Policies, Google also represented that it would
“respect the choices you make to limit sharing or visibility settings in your Google Account.”
As part of setting-up a Google Account, Google expressly tells consumers, “You’re
in control. Depending on your account settings, some … data may be associated with your Google
Account and we treat this data as personal information. You can control how we collect and use
this data….You can always adjust your controls later or withdraw your consent….”
In another example, since 2019, Google has maintained a webpage devoted to
explaining “How Google uses location information.” This webpage states that “[i]f Web and App
Activity is enabled, your searches and activity from a number of other Google services are saved
to your Google Account. The activity saved to Web and App Activity may also include location
27
information…. Pausing Web & App Activity will stop saving your future searches and activity
from other Google services.”
In statements like these, Google frames Google Account settings as tools that allow
a consumer to control Google’s collection and use of their personal data, including location
information. The Company’s reassuring statements about these settings misleadingly state and/or
imply that a consumer can stop Google from storing or deploying the consumer’s location
information by disabling these settings. However, this is not true.
Google further misleads consumers by providing consumers only partial visibility
into the location data Google collects about them. For example, Google’s current Privacy Policy
claims that consumers can manage their privacy because they can “review and control information
saved in [their] Google Account”
“decide what types of activity [they would] like saved in [their]
account,” and “review and control data that’s created when [they] use Google services.” Earlier
versions of the Privacy Policy likewise indicate that Google provides “transparency and choice”
options that allow consumers to “access, manage, or delete information that is associated with
[their] Google Account,” and state that Google provides these tools in order to “be clear about
what information [it] collects.” In other disclosures, Google explains that the My Activity webpage
“allows [consumers] to review and control data that’s created when [they] use Google services”
28
and that “My Activity is a central place where [consumers] can view and manage [their] saved
activity.”
Despite claiming to endeavor to “be clear about what information [Google] collects,
so that [consumers] can make meaningful choices about how it is used,”
Even today, the webpage devoted to explaining “How
29
Google uses location information” only explains how location data is “saved in [a] Google
Account,”
As a result of
Google’s misleading statements with respect to these settings, consumers cannot reasonably avoid
Google’s access to and use of their location data.
Google is aware that consumers do not understand Google Account settings or how
these settings interact with other location-related settings.
3. Google Misrepresents and Omits Material Facts Regarding the Google Ad
Personalization Setting.
Google’s deceptive and unfair practices extend to other Google Account settings as
well. Specifically, the Company’s Google Ad Personalization (GAP) setting purports to allow
consumers to opt out of personalized advertising. Consistent with Google’s other practices, this
setting allows consumers to “control” the Company’s use of their location data only to an extent.
According to Google, enabling the GAP setting will “[l]et Google use [a
consumer’s Google Account activity] to show [the consumer] more relevant ads on [Google’s]
30
services and on websites and apps that partner with [Google].” In explaining this setting, Google
told consumers that they should “let Google know [their] location,” so that “[they] won’t get ads
for stores in other regions.”
Google’s disclosure misleads consumers to believe they can turn off the GAP
setting to prevent Google from using location data to show personalized ads. But this setting only
provides an illusion of control. In reality, Google continues to target ads based on a consumer’s
location—both on and off Google products—even if the consumer opts out of ads personalization
by disabling the GAP setting.
D. Google Deceives Consumers Regarding Their Ability to Protect Their
Privacy Through Device Settings.
Google further confuses and misleads consumers into sharing location data through
deceptive practices that contradict the Company’s representations and consumers’ expectations
through location-related device settings. Specifically, Google misrepresents the ability of
consumers to control or limit Google’s collection of their location data through their device
settings. Google misleads consumers and withholds material facts about device settings in at least
three respects.
First, Google tells consumers that they can control the flow of location data to
Google via the device’s location “master switch.” Google includes this “master switch” on Google-
licensed Android phones in order to provide this functionality. Furthermore, beginning in its May
2018 Privacy Policy, Google represented that “the types of data [Google] collect[s] depend in part
on [the consumer’s] device and account settings. For example, [a consumer] can turn [an] Android
device’s location on or off using the device’s setting app.” Google also provided Help pages that
explain: “If [a consumer] turn[s] off Location for [a] device, then no apps can use [the consumer’s]
device location.”
31
These representations, as well as the Android device setting itself, state and/or
imply that when consumers disable the master location setting, Google does not collect, store, or
use their location to provide “services” (including ads) to the consumer. However, since at least
2014 through the present, Google has deceived consumers by failing to disclose that regardless of
whether the consumer explicitly forbids Google from accessing location via a device, Google
derives and stores the consumer’s location
Specifically, when a consumer turns the location “master switch” off, believing that
they are not sharing location information, Google nevertheless uses the consumer’s IP address
to infer the consumer’s location.
Consumers have no control over whether Google appropriates their location
Second, Google misleads consumers into believing that user’s app-specific device
settings can control whether Google obtains their location data. Google includes these settings on
Android devices to allow a user to deny device location information to specific apps. Google Help
pages explain that on Android devices, a user can choose which apps can access and use a user’s
device location.
Third, device settings related to specific location signals on Android phones, such
as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, are confusing and conflicting, making it very challenging for consumers
to limit Google’s access to this data. For example, Google uses Wi-Fi scans to compute device
location more accurately and precisely. Android phones include a “Wi-Fi scanning” setting among
other location-related settings. However, even if a consumer turns this setting “off,” Google can
still obtain Wi-Fi scans.
32
Simply put, even when a consumer’s mobile device is set to deny Google access to
location data, the Company finds a way to continue to ascertain the consumer’s location. Google’s
undisclosed practice of bypassing consumers’ location-related device settings constitutes a
deceptive and unfair act or practice. Because these practices are not clearly disclosed to consumers
and contradict consumer expectations, consumers cannot reasonably avoid Google’s access to and
use of their location data.
Google employees admit that the Company’s practices contradict consumer
expectations.
“Real
people just think in terms of ‘location is on,’ ‘location is off’ because that’s exactly what you have
on the front screen of your phone.”
E. Google Deploys Deceptive Practices that Undermine Consumers’ Ability to
Make Informed Choices About Their Data
Google has relied on, and continues to rely on, deceptive and unfair practices that
makes it difficult for consumers to decline location tracking or to evaluate the data collection and
processing to which they are purportedly consenting. Such practices are known in academic
literature as “dark patterns.”
Dark patterns are deceptive design choices that alter the consumer’s decision-
making for the designer’s benefit and to the consumer’s detriment. Dark patterns take advantage
of behavioral tendencies to manipulate consumers into actions that are harmful to consumers or
33
contrary to their intent. Common examples of “dark patterns” include complicated navigation
menus, visual misdirection, confusing wording (such as double negatives), and repeated nudging.
Because location data is immensely valuable to the Company, Google makes
extensive use of dark patterns, including repeated nudging, misleading pressure tactics, and
evasive and deceptive descriptions of location features and settings, to cause consumers to provide
more and more location data (inadvertently or out of frustration).
1. Dark Patterns in Google Account Settings
Some of Google’s deceptive practices with respect to Google Account settings
described above reflect the use of dark patterns. For example, Google’s decision to enable by
default the privacy-intrusive Web & App Activity feature by default, while failing to disclose this
setting, was a deceptive use of design. Through this dark pattern, Google not only misled
consumers about the extent of its location tracking, but also made it difficult for consumers to opt
out of this tracking.
Google also uses dark patterns in “in-product” prompts to enable Google Account
settings—i.e., prompts to enable these settings when a consumer begins to use Google apps and
services on a device. For example, for at least part of the relevant time period, Google told
consumers that certain Google products, such as Google Maps, Google Now, and Google Assistant
“need[]” or “depend[] on,” the Location History feature when setting up these products. See:
34
(Text above: “Get the most from Google Maps[:] Google needs to periodocally store your
location to improve route recommendations, search suggestions, and more”).
However, these products could properly function without consumers agreeing to
constant tracking.
Because Google’s statements falsely
implied that consumers are not free to decline to enable Google Account settings if they wished to
use a number of (often pre-installed) Google products as they were intended, consumers were left
with effectively no choice but to enable these settings.
Google also designed the set-up process for certain Google products in a manner
that limited consumers’ ability to decide whether to permit Google to track them. In particular,
Google prompted consumers to enable Location History and Web & App Activity, along with
35
multiple other settings, in order to use products like Google Assistant or Google Now. In other
words, consumers could only opt in or out of these settings collectively at set-up of the Google
product. See:
(Text above: “Give your new Assistant permission to help you[.] The Assistant depends on these
setting in order to work correctly. Turn these setting on for: . . . Web & App Activity[:] Includes
searches, Chrome history, and content you browse on the web and in apps[;] Location History[:]
Creates a private map of where you go with your signed-in devices”).
By presenting consumers with an “all or nothing” opt-in, Google similarly denied
consumers the ability to choose which data-sharing features to enable, unless consumers took the
additional and burdensome action of trying to locate and disable these features after set-up.
Google also did not (and still does not) give consumers the choice to decline
location tracking once and for all. For example, if users decline to enable Location History or Web
& App Activity when first prompted in the set-up process for an Android device, Google continues
36
to repeatedly prompt users to enable these settings when using Google products—despite already
refusing consent.
By repeatedly
“nudging” consumers to enable Google Account settings, Google increases the chances that a
consumer will enable the setting inadvertently or out of frustration. Google does not and has never
provided similarly frequent prompts to opt out of location sharing.
Further, until at least mid-2018, consumers who read Google’s prompts to enable
Google Account settings were provided only vague and imbalanced information about the
consequences of enabling Google Account settings, unless consumers clicked on links that led to
further information.
These prompts misleadingly emphasized a few benefits that Location History
provided to consumers—such as commute notifications or more personalized search results—
without providing a similar emphasis and disclosure about the advertising and monetary benefits
37
to Google. Indeed, Google only revealed that it used this comprehensive data for advertising
purposes in separate linked or drop-down disclosures that consumers would likely never see. See:
38
At relevant times, consumers who paused Location History or deleted Location
History entries also received vague warnings implying that disabling or limiting Location History
would hinder the performance of Google apps. For example, consumers who disabled Location
History were told that doing so “limits functionality of some Google products over time, such as
Google Maps and Google Now” and that “[n]one of your Google apps will be able to store location
data in Location History.” Consumers who deleted Location History entries were also warned that
“Google Now and other apps that use your Location History may stop working properly.” These
warnings were misleading because they failed to provide consumers with sufficient information to
understand what, if any, services would be limited, and falsely implied that Google products would
not function unless the consumer agreed to provide location data on a continuous basis.
2. Dark Patterns in Device Settings.
Users who seek to limit Google’s location data collection through Android device
settings are also confronted with various dark patterns. For example, consumers may try to disable
location settings on their devices, such as through the location “master switch” or the app-specific
location permission settings. However, after disabling these settings, consumers are subject to
repeated prompting to re-enable location when using a Google app.
Once location settings are re-enabled on a consumer’s device, other Google apps
and services can access the consumer’s location, including (in some versions of the Android OS)
when the consumer is not interacting with the app. The only way to avoid such access is if the
consumer remembers to disable location settings again, a process which the consumer is
discouraged to undertake because it requires a number of steps and must be repeated every time a
consumer wants to permit (and then deny) Google access to their location.
39
During the relevant time period, Google also actively sought to increase the
percentage of consumers who enabled location settings on Android devices by providing vague
disclosures and making it more difficult for consumers to disable these settings. For example, in
one version of Android, Google offered a toggle that allowed consumers to disable location from
a pull-down menu at the top of their screen. This made the setting more easily accessible to
consumers. However, Google removed this toggle from Android phones that Google
manufactured,
Around the same time, Google also changed the dialogue box that consumers would
see when prompted by Google to enable location, so that more consumers would consent to report
their locations to Google. Pursuant to this change, consumers were no longer advised that they
were agreeing to persistent tracking of their precise location by Google, as shown below:
40
Google took these actions because it has profound financial incentives to pressure
consumers into enabling location services and other location settings on their devices. Without
these settings enabled, Google has a substantially reduced ability to ascertain, extract, and
monetize the locations of its consumers.
CAUSES OF ACTION
COUNT I
Google Committed Unfair, Abusive, and/or Deceptive Acts, Omissions, and/or Practices in
Violation of Ind. Code. § 24-5-0.5-3(a)
The State of Indiana incorporates herein by reference all preceding paragraphs as
if fully set forth herein.
41
The DCSA regulates unfair, abusive, and/or deceptive acts, omissions, and/or
practices between a supplier and consumer when engaging in consumer transactions. Ind. Code §
24-5-0.5 et seq.
Under the DCSA, a consumer transaction includes services and other intangibles.
Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-2(1).
In supplying Indiana consumers with the products and services, Google was and
remains involved in consumer transactions in Indiana, as defined by Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-2.
Google regularly engages in or solicits consumer transactions with Indiana
Consumers. As such, Google is a supplier pursuant to Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-2.
The DCSA prohibits a supplier from committing “an unfair, abusive, or deceptive
act, omission, or practice in connection with a consumer transaction . . . whether it occurs before,
during, or after the transaction. An act, omission, or practice prohibited by this section includes
both implicit and explicit misrepresentations”. Ind. Code. § 24-5-0.5-3(a).
As alleged herein, Google has regularly engaged in unfair, abusive, and/or
deceptive acts, omissions, and/or practices affecting Indiana consumers, in violation of Ind. Code
24-5-0.5-3(a), by collecting, storing, and/or using consumers’ location data without their
knowledge and/or consent, or in contravention of consumers’ express actions denying consent.
These unfair, abusive, and/or deceptive acts and/or practices include but are not
limited to, the following:
a. Misleading consumers regarding location-related settings and collecting, retaining, and/or
using consumers’ location information without their knowledge and/or consent;
b. Conditioning or appearing to condition consumers’ use of Google products and services,
including products and services pre-installed on Android devices, on consumers’ consent
to Google’s collection, retention, and/or use of their location data, where that consent
and/or data was not needed to provide the basic functionality of the product or service;
42
c. Employing consumer interfaces that make it difficult for consumers to deny Google access
to and use of their location information, including making location-related consumer
controls difficult to find and repeatedly prompting consumers who previously declined or
disabled location-related controls to enable those controls; and
d. Providing incomplete, imbalanced, and/or misleading information about the extent of
Google’s collection, retention, and/or use of consumers’ location data when a consumer
enabled location-related device settings or Google Account settings.
Further, by engaging in the acts and practices alleged herein, Google made or
caused to be made to Indiana consumers, directly or indirectly, explicitly or by implication,
misrepresentations including, but not limited to, the following:
a. That consumers could prevent Google from collecting, retaining, and using their location
information by disabling (i.e., turning off) the Location History setting;
b. That consumers could prevent Google from collecting, retaining, and using their location
information by adjusting Google Account settings;
c. That consumers could review and manage the location information associated with their
Google Account and/or retained by Google via the My Activities feature;
d. That consumers could prevent Google from using their location to target advertisements
by disabling the Google Ad Personalization setting;
e. That consumers could prevent Google from collecting, retaining, and using consumers’
location information by disabling location-related device settings; and
f. That consumers needed to enable Location History and/or Web and App Activity to use
certain Google products and services, including products and services pre-installed on
Android devices (such as Google Now, Google Assistant, and Google Maps).
Further, by failing to disclose the following material facts to consumers, Google
engaged in deceptive omissions of these facts in violation of Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-3(a), including
but not limited to the following:
43
a. That Google retained and used consumer’s location information even with the Location
History setting disabled;
b. That Google retained and used consumers’ location information if the Web & App Activity
setting was enabled;
c. That consumers could not prevent Google from retaining and using consumers’ location
information by adjusting Google Account settings or signing out of Google;
d. That consumers could not prevent Google from using consumers’ location to target
advertisements by disabling the Google Ad Personalization setting;
e. That Google continues to collect and use location information about consumers even when
the consumer’s device location setting is disabled;
f.
g. That Google products and services, including products and services pre-installed on
Android devices (such as Google Now, Google Assistant, and Google Maps), could
function properly without Location History and/or Web and App Activity enabled.
These unfair, abusive, and/or deceptive acts, omissions, and/or practices were made
in connection with a consumer transaction within the meaning of Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-2(a)(1).
COUNT II
Google Committed Unfair, Abusive, and/or Deceptive Acts, Omissions, and/or
Practices in Violation of Ind. Code. § 24-5-0.5-3(b)(1)
The State of Indiana incorporates herein by reference all preceding paragraphs as
if fully set forth herein.
The DCSA regulates unfair and deceptive practices between a supplier and
consumer when engaging in consumer transactions. Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5 et seq.
44
Under the DCSA, a consumer transaction includes services and other intangibles.
Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-2(1).
In supplying Indiana consumers with the products and services, Google was and
remains involved in consumer transactions in Indiana, as defined by Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-2.
Google regularly engages in or solicits consumer transactions with Indiana
Consumers. As such, Google is a supplier pursuant to Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-2.
Google, through their acts, omissions, and/or practices related to the collection,
retention, and use of consumer location information, represented that their products and/or services
had performance, characteristics, uses, and/or benefits they did not have, which the Google knew
or reasonably should have known they did not have, in violation of Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-3(b)(1).
These unfair, abusive, and/or deceptive acts and/or practices include but are not
limited to, the following:
a. Misleading consumers regarding location-related settings and collecting, retaining, and/or
using consumers’ location information without their knowledge and/or consent;
b. Conditioning or appearing to condition consumers’ use of Google products and/or services,
including products and services pre-installed on Android devices, on consumers’ consent
to Google’s collection, retention, and/or use of their location data, where that consent
and/or data was not needed to provide the basic functionality of the product or service;
c. Employing consumer interfaces that make it difficult for consumers to deny Google access
to and use of their location information, including making location-related consumer
controls difficult to find and repeatedly prompting consumers who previously declined or
disabled location-related controls to enable those controls; and
d. Providing incomplete, imbalanced, or misleading information about the extent of Google’s
collection, retention, or use of consumers’ location data when a consumer enabled location-
related device settings or Google Account settings.
45
Further, by engaging in the acts and practices alleged herein, Google made or
caused to be made to Indiana consumers, directly or indirectly, explicitly or by implication,
misrepresentations including, but not limited to, the following:
a. That consumers could prevent Google from collecting, retaining, and using their location
information by disabling (i.e., turning off) the Location History setting;
b. That consumers could prevent Google from collecting, retaining, and/or using their
location information by adjusting Google Account settings;
c. That consumers could review and manage the location information associated with their
Google Account and/or retained by Google via the My Activities feature;
d. That consumers could prevent Google from using their location to target advertisements
by disabling the Google Ad Personalization setting;
e. That consumers could prevent Google from collecting, retaining, and/or using consumers’
location information by disabling location-related device settings; and
f. That consumers needed to enable Location History and/or Web and App Activity to use
certain Google products and services, including products and services pre-installed on
Android devices (such as Google Now, Google Assistant, and Google Maps).
Further, by failing to disclose the following material facts to consumers, Google
engaged in deceptive omissions of these facts in violation of Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-3(a), including
but not limited to the following:
a. That Google retained and used consumer’s location information even with the Location
History setting disabled;
b. That Google retained and used consumers’ location information if the Web & App Activity
setting was enabled;
c. That consumers could not prevent Google from retaining and using consumers’ location
information by adjusting Google Account settings or signing out of Google;
46
d. That consumers could not prevent Google from using consumers’ location to target
advertisements by disabling the Google Ad Personalization setting;
e. That Google continues to collect and/or use location information about consumers even
when the consumer’s device location setting is disabled;
f.
g. That Google products and services, including products and services pre-installed on
Android devices (such as Google Now, Google Assistant, and Google Maps), could
function properly without Location History and/or Web and App Activity enabled
These acts, omissions, and/or practices were done in connection with consumer
transactions within the meaning of Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-2(a)(1).
COUNT III
Google Committed Knowing Violations of the Indiana
Deceptive Consumer Sales Act
The State of Indiana incorporates herein by reference all preceding paragraphs as
if fully set forth herein.
Google committed the acts alleged in this Complaint with knowledge of their
deceptive nature, and therefore committed knowing violations of the DCSA, subjecting it to
penalties under Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-4(g).
COUNT IV
Google’s Conduct Constitutes Incurable Deceptive Acts Under the
Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act
The State of Indiana incorporates herein by reference all preceding paragraphs as
if fully set forth herein.
47
The acts alleged in this Complaint are incurable deceptive acts that Google
committed as part of a scheme, artifice, or device with intent to defraud or mislead, and therefore
committed incurable deceptive acts, subjecting it to penalties under Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-8.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, the State of Indiana respectfully requests that this Court enter judgment
against Google and in favor of the State of Indiana as to the counts described above as follows:
a. Permanently enjoining Google, its representatives, successors, assigns, officers, agents,
servants, employees, and all other persons acting or claiming to act for, on behalf of, or in
active concert or participation with Google, from continuing or engaging in the conduct
complained of herein;
b. Ordering Google to pay consumer restitution of money or property acquired by Google as
a result of the conduct complained of herein pursuant to Indiana Code §24-5-0.5-4(c)(2),
payable to the Office of the Attorney General in an amount to be determined at trial;
c. Ordering Google to pay disgorgement of all profits and benefits obtained from its unlawful
practices complained of herein, payable to the Office of the Attorney General in an amount
to be determined at trial;
d. Ordering the payment of civil penalties for each and every violation of the DCSA
complained of herein as permitted by statute pursuant to Indiana Code § 24-5-0.5-4(g) and
Indiana Code § 24-5-0.5-8, payable to the Office of the Attorney General in an amount to
be determined at trial;
e. Awarding the State of Indiana the costs of investigation and prosecution of this action
pursuant to Indiana Code § 24-5-0.5-4(c)(4); and
f. Granting any such further relief as the Court deems just and proper.
48
JURY DEMAND
The State of Indiana demands a trial by jury by the maximum number of jurors permitted
by law.
Respectfully submitted,
THEODORE E. ROKITA
Indiana Bar No. 18857-49
Indiana Attorney General
Date: January 24, 2022 By: /s/ Douglas S. Swetnam
DOUGLAS S. SWETNAM
Indiana Bar No. 15860-49
[email protected]
/s/ Vanessa Voigt Gould
VANESSA VOIGT GOULD
Indiana Bar No. 26719-49
[email protected]
/s/ Jennifer Van Dame
JENNIFER M. VAN DAME
Indiana Bar No. 32788-53
[email protected]
Deputy Attorneys General
302 West Washington Street
IGCS – 5th Floor
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 232-6294 (Swetnam)
(317) 232-7979 (Fax)
Counsel for State of Indiana