Affiliates are usually responsible for the product quality on their website. As a result, it can be difficult to gauge what satisfies all users. Google has been told in the future to be transparent about the location tracking it does and develop a webpage for informing visitors about the data it collects.

This settlement is the largest privacy-related case in US history.

A Google official says: "In line with some of the improvements we made in recent years, this investigation has been settled. The investigation seemed to be based off outdated policies that we've since changed."

Last month, Google agreed to pay Arizona $85 million over a similar issue concerning how it collects location data.

Although it's still a controversial topic in the US, other countries like Texas, Indiana, Washington and the District of Columbia have already taken legal action against Google by filing a complaint in January.

Advertising is more successful when it's tailored to the demographics and personal interests of individual users.

Google generates over $200bn in annual advertising revenue by collecting data on the places and people you visit.

"For years, Google has prioritized profit over its users' privacy," Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said. "This settlement finally holds Google accountable."

"Consumers thought they turned off location tracking on Google, but the company continued to secretly record their movements and use this information for advertisers."

State attorneys general accused Google of violating consumer-protection laws since as far back as 2014, when they told the company that it had been misrepresenting its location-tracking practices to consumers.

Starting in 2023, the company has been told to implement better user controls and provide a clearer way to track location.

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