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San Jose, CA – July 2, 2025
In a landmark court decision In a landmark legal ruling, a historic California jury has ordered the tech company Google to pay $314.6 million in damages for claims that it illegally obtained cellular data on millions of Android users across the state without their consent.
This class action suit involves more than 14 million Android users. It claims Google secretly collected data while phones were idle. This process caused excessive mobile data use. Plaintiffs say Google used this data mainly for targeted ads and service optimization. Meanwhile, consumers unknowingly paid the price.
The jury agreed with the plaintiffs and ruled that Google’s practices for data collection imposed “mandatory and unavoidable burdens” on users, which violated California law on privacy as well as consumer protection. The jury awarded one of the largest privacy-related verdicts against the company.
“This is a powerful reminder that even the biggest tech firms are not above the law,” said one of the leading lawyers representing the plaintiffs.
Google has responded, saying it will contest the ruling. The company argues the data transfers are essential to Android’s core functions, like security, app performance, and connectivity. Additionally, Google asserted that users had consented to the data collection via their settings and in the user agreement.
This decision could be the start of an ongoing legal fight. April 2026 will see the hearing of a separate nationwide lawsuit involving Android users from outside California.
Privacy advocates have praised the verdict of the jury as an important step towards holding big tech accountable. As of now, Android users and consumer rights groups are watching to see if this case will result in significant changes to the way mobile data is managed in the background.
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