A San Francisco federal jury just told Google to cough up $425 million for doing exactly what everyone suspected - tracking us even after we told them to fuck off. The September 3-4, 2025 verdict isn't some European regulatory slap on the wrist. This is an American jury saying Google's privacy promises were worth about as much as a used tissue.
The case started in July 2020, but the tracking bullshit goes back eight years. Picture this: you're using Uber, Venmo, whatever app connects to Google's ecosystem. You've dutifully turned off "Web & App Activity" in your Google account because you're not an idiot who wants Google knowing when you order Thai food at 2am. Except Google kept tracking anyway.
Here's the kicker - Google collected data from 98 million users across 174 million devices. That's not some technical glitch that slipped through QA. That's a business model built on ignoring what users actually want.
The plaintiffs originally wanted $31 billion, which would've been about $318 per device. The jury gave them roughly $4 per device instead. Google's probably celebrating that they're not paying enterprise software licensing fees to every smartphone owner in America.
But here's what matters: the jury found Google liable on two of three privacy violation claims. They ruled Google had not acted with malice, which saved Google from punitive damages. Translation: Google wasn't trying to be evil, they just built a system that was evil by default.
Google's response? Pure corporate speak. Spokesperson Jose Castaneda said the decision "misunderstands how our products work" and claimed their "privacy tools give people control over their data." Right. Tools that apparently don't work when people actually use them.
During the trial, Google argued the collected data was "nonpersonal, pseudonymous, and stored in segregated, secured, and encrypted locations" that wasn't linked to user accounts. That's like saying they robbed your house but didn't steal anything personal because they only took stuff that wasn't labeled with your name.
This isn't Google's first privacy rodeo. They've paid out billions in settlements over the years. But this one feels different. A U.S. jury actually listened to evidence and decided Google's privacy theater wasn't cutting it.
Google plans to appeal, of course. But the precedent is set. When users opt out, that has to actually mean something. Not "opt out of personalized ads but we'll still hoover up your data for other purposes." Not "opt out but we'll track you through partner apps." Just... opt out.
The $425 million might be pocket change for Alphabet's $307 billion revenue machine. But the principle matters. Privacy settings that don't work aren't privacy settings - they're security theater designed to make users feel better while changing nothing.