Google settles WiFi scandal, age discrimination and data sharing lawsuits

Google is said to have reached a settlement in several court cases. The company was accused of age discrimination, the unjustified collection of data from children and the Wi-Spy scandal with Street View cars.

According to Bloomberg, Google is paying 13 million dollars for the Wi-Spy scandal. In 2010, the company was accused of collecting email addresses, passwords and other personal information from citizens via its Street View cars over unencrypted WiFi networks. The information came from tens of millions of people worldwide.

Twenty plaintiffs in a class action court case will receive personal compensation for the scandal, subject to a San Francisco judge approving the settlement. Identifying other affected users after ten years is too complicated, according to lawyers.

The remaining money is therefore distributed to a handful of groups that are committed to consumers’ privacy rights. The information that Google has left will be destroyed.

Age discrimination

Google was also accused of age discrimination in job applications. According to Bloomberg, the internet giant pays 11 million dollars in that lawsuit, which was brought by 227 people. According to the case, the company discriminated against older applicants.

According to the settlement, parent company Alphabet should also train its employees and managers in the field of age discrimination. In addition, a committee should be set up to address age diversity in recruitment and to ensure that complaints are properly investigated.

In all probability, the people involved in the trial will receive over $35,000 in compensation per person.

YouTube

Finally, according to sources from The Washington Post, Google concluded an investigation by the FTC with a settlement. The company was investigated because it did not protect children who visited YouTube well enough, and collected their data. Under U.S. law, data from children under the age of 13 may not be collected.

Google is expected to pay a multimillion dollar fine for this. However, the exact amount and other conditions are not yet known. The case is now in the hands of the Ministry of Justice, but it generally follows the advice of the FTC.