The Arizona Attorney General ('AG') announced, on 4 October 2022, that it had reached a $85 million settlement with Google LLC, for violations of §44-1521 et seq. of the Arizona Revised Statutes ('the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act'), following an ex officio investigation.

Background to the settlement

In particular, the AG reported that, following an article in the media, it had sued Google in May 2020, becoming the first AG in the country to hold Google accountable in state court for deceiving consumers through so-called 'dark patterns' built into its software.

Findings of the AG

Further to the above, in the lawsuit in question, the AG outlined that it had determined that Google had engaged in deceptive and unfair practices toward users by collecting their personal location data by tracking smartphones even when consumers had disabled the 'location history' setting. In particular, the AG explained that, when users turned off their location history in settings, Google continued to surreptitiously collect their location through other settings, such as web and app activity, subsequently using that information to sell ads. Importantly, the AG found that such activities were regularly carried out without the users' knowledge or consent, and that the software used was pre-programmed into Android phones purchased by consumers.

Outcomes

As a result of the abovementioned failings, the AG stated that it had reached a settlement of $85 million with Google.

You can read the press release here, the notice of settlement here, and the settlement here.