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pattydickens t1_iwdhsko wrote

What are the states going to do with the money? It's not like the states were the victim here.

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2boredtocare t1_iwdirjg wrote

In Illinois we received texts/email similar to when Facebook was sued. You could opt-in for the settlement. The FB one netted each person ~$400.

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ananxiouscat t1_iwehkre wrote

i just settled my IL Insta lawsuit and it's supposed to be between $750-$1200 after fees and based on my other settlements im guessing itll be closer to $1200.

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2459-8143-2844 t1_iwf2c44 wrote

Do you do this for a living?

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anonymitee t1_iwjju39 wrote

You’d be surprised how many of these you can stumble upon from ads and stuff. They almost always look like scams, but as long as you do your research and confirm that they’re real practicing lawyers, then it’s usually super simple

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2boredtocare t1_iwgk46c wrote

Was that a class action? I didn't hear about that one. I think we did the google and snapchat that we're waiting on.

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GoArray t1_iwdxl34 wrote

You got it all wrong, googe was tracking the states. How do you think it knows (I just checked) that hawaii moved ~4" in the past year?

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SatanicNotMessianic t1_iwf6i2c wrote

In some cases the states distribute the money to affected individuals. In other cases such as the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, the money is used to offset the costs of medical care associated with smoking, as well as to fund public health anti-smoking campaigns. The MSA was a very broad-ranging agreement.

Some people think we should use the MSA as a blueprint for energy companies who used similar or identical strategies as the tobacco companies to block climate change information and legislation. It’s actually called the Tobacco Playbook, in which companies will use a range of strategies to sow seeds of doubt as well as pressure politicians to prevent reform.

Needless to say, that’s a fight we haven’t won yet.

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orus t1_iweo3pr wrote

Set up infrastructure to track the citizens themselves 🤣

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2459-8143-2844 t1_iwf4dp9 wrote

Maybe someone can sue like those a-holes that are trying to stop the debt relief. I much rather no one get money than my state, some politicians and their cronies will most likely pocket it anyways.

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Low_Effective_7605 t1_iwe4a15 wrote

When you break state laws, yes, the state actually is the victim. Like speeding.

Edited to add: it's literally in the article, smoothbrains.

>The attorneys general said Google misled users about its location tracking practices since at least 2014, violating state consumer protection laws.

The people they illegally texted are NOT the victims.

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2459-8143-2844 t1_iwf2un7 wrote

So if someone is killed by someone speeding and they get sued the state should get the money?

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Low_Effective_7605 t1_iwg7euu wrote

No... Because someone was killed, they would then also be a victim. The state would still want their fine for speeding, though.

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[deleted] t1_iwdjaa6 wrote

If the penalty doesn't exceed the profit, it's just a tax.

Google should've lost their corporate status over this. As a society, we make no responsible attempt to regulate corporations, which therefore don't deserve their tax status and indemnification powers.

Ya can't have it both ways.

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AudibleNod OP t1_iwde3ne wrote

Alphabet has over $110,000,000,000.00 cash on hand.

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Obie1 t1_iwdju8e wrote

For those who don't know: Alphabet is Google's parent company.

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rrrrrroadhouse t1_iwdkz79 wrote

And one run by AI/machine learning.

I have no real evidence of this besides that all their other AI software is called "Alpha". AlphaGo, Alphastar, Alphafold, Alphazero, etc.

Alpha Bet AI manages their investments.

/TinFoil hat off

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hryipcdxeoyqufcc t1_iwdqpcw wrote

$392M out of $110,000M. Not a bad fee for location tracking.

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Maximum_Passion1865 t1_iwe1hf8 wrote

Dark knight cellphone tracking I wonder if the Department of Defense would want to know. Can the Department of Justice prosecute the budget DOD? I'm just a legal analyst.What do I know.

/Tinfoilhaton

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Zebo91 t1_iwfsxav wrote

Genuinely interested on how much revenue they earned off this data

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[deleted] t1_iwdpryn wrote

[deleted]

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calm_chowder t1_iwf0cp6 wrote

So if we're in one of those states can we sign on to get money...?

Cause I could sure use some money right now.

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PerNewton t1_iwfm3h8 wrote

Google can help you with that. Just enter your social number and location.

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TitsMickey t1_iwg5dn3 wrote

I forget the name but there’s a website that has all the settlements of major lawsuits that most people qualify for. Most of the time you’re getting 5-7 bucks but it can add up if you qualify for a couple.

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jherara t1_iwdnooa wrote

"This $391.5 million settlement is a historic win for consumers in an era of increasing reliance on technology..." Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement.

Sigh. It really, really isn't for so many reasons:

  1. States get the money instead of consumers unless the state redistributes it.

  2. The amount is a drop in the bucket for Alphabet.

  3. Only certain states even filed.

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ciarenni t1_iwe0nam wrote

> The amount is a drop in the bucket for Alphabet.

This amount isn't even notable to Alphabet. It's a rounding error at best.

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jherara t1_iwe1a9j wrote

That's what "drop" in the bucket means.

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sheepsleepdeep t1_iwdkgjv wrote

Q1 2023: "Google to lay off 2500 employees due to unforseen expenses."

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[deleted] t1_iwdk8hn wrote

[deleted]

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groveborn t1_iwdwuti wrote

That sounds like a terrible way to exist. Churches on every corner. Many have food drives.

You don't need to have religion to benefit from their excess funds.

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Yazon69 t1_iwdfi79 wrote

Small price to pay for a company that has a near monopoly on the Internet.

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welchplug t1_iwdwzyh wrote

I think you are way under estimating amazon here.

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therealwillhepburn t1_iwgkypa wrote

Largest cloud in the industry. Ring so they can actually see you. Roomba. Whole Foods Market. IMDB. Zappos. Blink home security.

They were also in talks to buy Cisco the food distributor at one point too.

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welchplug t1_iwglmcn wrote

>Cisco

sysco. Sorry I found that funny. I work in the industry.

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ExPatWharfRat t1_iwenauc wrote

So why not pay the people who they tracked?

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peeshivers243 t1_iwdjrtj wrote

So they could do this ~300 more times with their total ~$110B ?

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uzlonewolf t1_iwfdlqa wrote

Do this and get caught ~300 more times. If they hide it better so they don't get caught they can do it much more.

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TunaFishManwich t1_iweix93 wrote

So about half a day’s revenue. (No, really, it’s half a day’s revenue)

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AudibleNod OP t1_iwek4bs wrote

Alphabet's 2021 revenue was $257B. So yeah, that's right. Good catch.

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YankeeinNCandIhateit t1_iwe0cq8 wrote

And how much of this money will be returned to the actual victims of this illegal tracking? Oh, 0.

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davepars77 t1_iwdkxj9 wrote

Yeah, because the state is the real victim here.

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egonil t1_iwdynd1 wrote

Only the government is allowed to track us.

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professionalmeangirl t1_iwdrxxd wrote

It doesn't look like they have to change anything either, just let us know we can't turn it off.

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SuperSimpleSam t1_iwev0zn wrote

Why even bother tracking states? Plate tectonics is so slow.

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LegacyAngel t1_iwdq7xp wrote

Wonder when we will see the apple lawsuit. There is one already but not as big as this one

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Zarkkarz t1_iwdu72n wrote

Put a few more zeroes on that

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uzlonewolf t1_iwfe1m5 wrote

Not sure why you need that, but here you go:

Google was fined $0,000,392M

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TheFiftGuy t1_iwg32kb wrote

Google had a revenue of just over 69 Billion last quarter (September 2022).

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Cloudboy9001 t1_iwe5hp5 wrote

I wonder how many people are going to jail over this?

NYTimes coverage of this (no paywall):
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/technology/google-privacy-settlement.html?unlocked_article_code=AlcAYsNtMjbCjno43AvvyxUownmODUV-w52tz2RxiVjci5dISB0XtzvABcbh641YE11y5JanbYH9cS4u5T4thNbE-Yn-3xLDrcrxWvsw70pW89oBE8DzMIU-_foUB-hXuQZzAWM--Xn_4oEWsEeewJrgOVojziKLVmz4bawmSzi1zKz66x8V75yRmBmwCLPxzFOuzTbiaTHME_tymNwit28qBdXs1mYotYYeBLi3wDyeQjfwT8A2l7jhig2ZK8EU8bDtI9jBTlgL5u2y6c_8WZ5qavYa2AdW3VHQMwIz8z00Z6PYOUoTgAZCOKUAtu0n1cw2Mqzga_PFlpvnP0aNRJarsARLHqI&smid=share-url

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F15hm0ng3r t1_iwe5ufn wrote

so this is the reason GA4 sucks

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detahramet t1_iwhocuk wrote

Google is valued at over 1.1 trillion. This find is like the average person in the US being fined $10 for speeding. This is a fucking joke.

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datenschwanz t1_iwhir0o wrote

"...as a result of the class action lawsuit those who had family members impacted as a result of Google's actions will receive a $5 Starbucks gift card. The three attorneys who managed the suit will be paid out $130.6 million dollars each."
Or something.

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HappySkullsplitter t1_iwde7wu wrote

Wow, that's $15.68 billion

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24F t1_iwdii84 wrote

I think it's $392 million total.

A whopping 0.15% of Google's yearly revenue.

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