Google Must Face Privacy On/Off Switch Suit as a Class Action

Google failed to convince a federal judge to reject class certification of a lawsuit claiming the tech giant covertly collects mobile app user information despite telling users they can turn off that data-mining function.

Lead plaintiff Anibal Rodriguez and others alleged Google effectively “placed itself in the middle of conversations to which it was not an authorized part,” despite telling them they could opt out of the company’s tracking of users’ regular and “supplemental” web and app activity as early as July 1, 2016.

The company, a unit of Mountain View, Calif.-based Alphabet Inc. argued that any harms were individualized ...