N.C. Attorney General Stein announces $391M Google settlement

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is praising a $391.5 million multistate settlement with Google over its location tracking practices. 

The lawsuit alleged Google violated state consumer protection laws by misleading users about how it accesses personal data and location information. According to a news release, Google collected the data even when users asked the company not to, using it to target consumers with advertisements.  

The settlement requires Google to be more transparent about its practices, including making its account controls more user-friendly, and limiting how the company taps into location information.

Stein was on the executive committee of states which negotiated the settlement of nearly $400 million, the “largest multistate attorney general privacy settlement in U.S. history.”

North Carolina’s share of the settlement is over $17 million.