DiCello Levitt Wins Landmark Ninth Circuit Victory in Google Chrome Privacy Class Action

DiCello Levitt achieved a landmark victory for users of Google’s Chrome web browser, reinstating a nationwide data privacy class action that challenges Google’s intentional collection of Chrome users’ personal information without their consent. 

On August 20, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the Northern District of California’s summary judgment in favor of Google, finding that the district court failed to apply the correct standard by not considering whether a “reasonable user” would have consented to Google’s data collection practices. Law360 named the DiCello Levitt team “Legal Lions of the Week,” noting that they “roared as the Ninth Circuit … reversed the dismissal of a proposed class action accusing Google of surreptitiously collecting Chrome browser users’ data.”

The lawsuit was first filed in July 2020 after an expert inspection of HTTP traffic on Chrome browsers revealed that Chrome sent vast amounts of users’ personal information to Google regardless of whether those users chose to sync their browsers with their Google accounts. Google had promised that Chrome would not send personal information to Google unless the user elected to sync the browser with a Google account. The Ninth Circuit fully rejected Google’s argument that their general privacy policy should govern any browser-agnostic data collection, emphasizing that Google’s disclosures must be interpreted based on how a “reasonable user” would understand them.

This decision sends the case back to the district court for trial, pending plaintiff class certification, and requires a jury to determine how a reasonable Chrome user with ordinary computer skills would have understood Google’s disclosures and promises. The victory reportedly caused reverberations across privacy litigation and underscores DiCello Levitt’s commitment to protecting users’ privacy rights and holding corporations accountable for their data collection practices. The case is Calhoun, et al. v. Google. The DiCello Levitt team is led by David Straite and includes Adam Prom, Amy Keller, Corban Rhodes and Julia Veeser. Co-Counsel include Bleichmar Fonti & Auld and Simmons Hanly Conroy. Gupta Wessler LLP participated in the appeal.