As reported by Law360 (subscription), Google has agreed to a settlement to resolve plaintiffs’ privacy invasion claims in a class action lawsuit brought by Lieff Cabraser on behalf of Android users who alleged a COVID-19 contact-tracing app improperly exposed their private data. The tech giant announced that it will preserve strict security measures enacted near-concurrently with the filing of the original lawsuit to deter future data breaches from occurring.
In a motion filed on Friday in California federal court, the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit noted that Google “has confirmed that security changes it enacted in April and May 2021 were addressing the same vulnerabilities raised in [plaintiffs’] April 2021 complaint.”
“These measures, as confirmed by plaintiffs’ consulting expert, would prevent the alleged logging and collection of personally identifying information alongside [the exposure notification] system users’ COVID-19 status,” noted plaintiffs’ motion. While the utility of the contact-tracing app was never in question, plaintiffs’ concerns centered on what they viewed as insufficient protections on what was at heart private, personal medical data.
The terms of the deal also require Google, a co-creator of the app, to confirm that certain security measures are and will remain in place, including restrictions to prevent the company from reverting the software improvements described in the agreement.
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