Google has been accused of sharing user search information with third-party websites without consent and has agreed to pay $23 million to settle the claim. You are entitled to a small chunk of that if you are an American national and remember using Google Search between October 26 2006 and September 30 2013.
The lawsuit was filed by customers who said the search giant shared their search queries with advertisers and other third parties without their permission. They claimed that the search terms may have revealed their personal information. This practice violates the Stored Communications Act which protects the privacy of user content and records held by service providers.
Google responded by saying that the claim that consumer privacy was invaded was invalid if searches weren’t linked to their identity.
Although the company denies any wrongdoing, it has agreed to pay $23 million to settle the 12-year lawsuit. The company will also update its frequently asked questions (FAQs) and key terms pages to explain more about it search terms sharing practices.
If you remember using Google’s search engine and clicking on a search result during the aforementioned dates, you can apply for your cut of the settlement.
The company decided to settle the lawsuit in January but it’s only now that instructions regarding how eligible customers can apply for their cut have been revealed.
How do I apply?
You must submit a claim by July 31 by visiting the website refererheadersettlement.com. Click on the Registration Form page and then enter the required information. You will then receive your Class Member ID, after which you can proceed to the Submit Claim page.
It’s estimated that the payout will be $7.70 per person and the amount could go up or down depending on the number of people who apply.
The final approval hearing for the case will take place on October 12.
