Google Assistant $68 Million Privacy Settlement Gets First Nod

Google LLC’s proposed $68 million deal to resolve allegations that its Google Assistant technology intercepted users’ private conversations without their consent got preliminary approval by a federal court.

The settlement was sufficiently fair, reasonable, and adequate for an initial nod, Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the US District Court for the Northern District of California determined Thursday. The final approval hearing is scheduled for Oct. 1, 2026.

• Google Assistant was only supposed to record at the utterance of a “hot word,” but the privacy-preserving gate allegedly failed to prevent the technology from improperly capturing the conversations of millions
• Class members ...