Google settles $600M in privacy lawsuits. Are you owed cash?

Between September 2022 and January 2023, Google has settled a series of sweeping privacy lawsuits, resulting in nearly $600 million in historic settlement payouts to states and

affected users. So what happened with each lawsuit, and what can you expect if Google violated your privacy?Google's Ilinois settlement: $100MOn September 28th, a Cook County,

Illinois judge approved a final $100M settlement in a lawsuit (opens in new tab) alleging Google’s face grouping tool, which sorts faces on Google Photos by similarity, violated

Illinois’ biometric privacy law, according to the Chicago Tribune (opens in new tab). Illinois law requires companies to obtain users’ consent before collecting and saving

biometric information.The 420,000 Illinois residents who filed settlement payout claims could receive checks of about $154 each. Subscribe to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Be a

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retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail. Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger’s expert advice - straight to your e-mail. After final approval,

payouts were expected to begin within 90 days. However, attorneys warned that though the court approved the settlement, there could still be appeals in the case, according to NBC

Chicago (opens in new tab). Indeed, there is a current appeal pending (opens in new tab) against the settlement administrator over how they evaluated the validity of consumer

claims, which may delay payouts for all claimants.Arizona AG settlement: $85MOn October 4th, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich reached an $85 million settlement to resolve a

lawsuit that accused Google of secretly obtaining user data to sell advertisements, according to the Associated Press (opens in new tab) (AP). Arizona prosecutors had been

investigating Google since 2018 when AP revealed that Google was misleading consumers about its practices with user tracking and location data. Brnovich’s office filed the

current lawsuit against Google in May 2020.It appears that affected Google users in Arizona will not receive any direct cash payouts from this settlement. Instead, Brnovich’s

office announced (opens in new tab) the settlement directs the bulk of the money to the Arizona general fund, which will require legislative appropriation before it can be

spent. Additionally, $5 million will be set aside for “attorney general education programs.” 40-state AG settlement: $391.5M  In November 2022, Google reached a record