Australia: Federal Court rules Google misled consumers about the collection and use of location data

On 16 April 2021, the Federal Court of Australia ruled that Google misled users about the location data it collects, stores and uses. The court found that Google did not properly disclose to consumers that both the “Location History” and “Web & App Activity” settings had to be turned off if they did not want the company to collect their data. The Court noted that Google’s actions misled the public as it did not properly inform users that both settings were relevant for the collection of personal location data.