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Google Privacy Lawsuit: Google Chrome Incognito Records and Shares Private User Data

Google is being sued in a class-action lawsuit filed on June 2 for the invasion of privacy and sharing users’ data, even when they browse in ‘private mode’.

Google, the internet search giant has been accused of illegally invading the privacy of millions of users by pervasively tracking their internet use through browsers even those set in Google Chrome’s “incognito” mode or private browsing.

According to Reuters on June 3, the class action lawsuit is seeking damages of around $5 billion dollars. The lawsuit accuses Google of covertly collecting private data from users regarding their online behavior even when they use Google Chrome Incognito mode.

As alleged in the official complaint, Google gathers users data through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager and other applications and website plug-ins. The complaint filed in San Jose, California states that this data is collected regardless of whether users click on Google-supported ads or not.

The complaint asserts that this data collection occurs, “Even when those individuals expressly follow Google’s recommendations to prevent the tracking or collection of their personal information and communications.”

The case is filed under Brown et al v Google LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-03664.

Google Incognito Disclaimer Defense

A Google spokesman, Jose Castaneda has responded to the class action lawsuit, asserting that the internet search behemoth will defend against the allegations and has highlighted a clear disclaimer.

Castaneda said, “As we clearly state each time you open a new Incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity.”

The complaint suggests that the proposed class-action lawsuit against Google encompasses millions of users since June 1, 2016 who have been under the impression that they have been surfing the web privately.

Is Decentralized Privacy the Solution?

The recent increase in reported incidents of surveillance and security breaches compromising users’ online browsing privacy, calls into question the current model used by service providers, in which central third-parties like Google are able to collect and control massive amounts of personal data.

According to a new report, blockchain may be a possible and more secure alternative to the current centralized model. Bitcoin has demonstrated in the financial space that trusted auditable computing is possible using a decentralized network of peers accompanied by a public ledger.

In the paper entitled, ‘Decentralizing Privacy: Using Blockchain to Protect Personal Data’, the authors describe a decentralized personal data management system that ensures users own and control their data. By implementing a protocol that turns a blockchain into an automated access-control manager that does not require trust in a third party.

Unlike Bitcoin, transactions using the proposed system will not be strictly financial – but will be used to carry instructions, such as storing, querying, and sharing data.

In light of the increasing allegations against trusted central providers such as Google and Facebook: the control of private user data could likely be a possible future extension to blockchains, harnessing the technology into a well-rounded solution for trusted computing problems in society.

Image via Shutterstock

Why Google Chrome Is Losing Market Share to Cryptocurrency-Powered Brave Browser

Popular search engine giant Google Chrome is losing some of its customers to the new Brave browser primarily because of the latter’s privacy-by-default model.

According to a report by Forbes, the Brave browser is gradually breaking the industry dominance of Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox with more than 10 years of combined market dominance.

Brave is a free and open-source web browser developed by Brave Software, Inc. based on the Chromium web browser. The Brave browser blocks ads and website trackers. Besides its ease of use and great user interface, it provides a way for users to send cryptocurrency contributions in the form of Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) to their favorite websites and content creators.

The issue of privacy has obviously become a concern with Google, as it was recently involved in a class-action lawsuit in which Chrome’s Incognito records reportedly shared users’ private data. As quoted by Forbes, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Brave Brendan Eich said:

“Users are fed up with surveillance capitalism, and 20 million people have switched to Brave for an entirely new web ecosystem with an opt-in ad economy that puts them back in control of their browsing experience.”

Eich also noted that “the global privacy movement is gaining traction, and this milestone is just one more step in our journey to make privacy-by-default a standard for all web users.” Owing to this, the Brave browser has seen a huge rise in its user base, which grew from 8.7 million monthly active users (MAUs) in November 2019 to 20.5 million monthly active users today. The daily active users have also increased to 7 million people, up from 3 million a year ago.

The incentive reward system is designed to also give Brave users a 70% cut from ad revenues, a feature that comes as an innovative twist compared to Google Chrome’s model, which solely accrues its revenues. The ad revenue biz that Chrome has dominated remains one of the reasons why the Feds have launched an antitrust probe directed at Google, amongst other big US tech firms such as Apple, Facebook, and Amazon.

Fantom Foundation Wallets Compromised in Suspected Chrome Exploit

Fantom Foundation announced that several of their wallets were compromised. Reports confirmed that a number of Fantom wallets were affected earlier today, which involved a loss of approximately $550K in Fantom Foundation funds. However, it’s reassuring to note that over 99% of the Fantom Foundation’s funds remain unaffected by this breach and are currently secure.

Initial speculations suggest a zero-day exploit in Google Chrome might be the underlying cause. Although the exact nature and mechanism of the attack are still under investigation, it’s apparent that the vulnerabilities extended beyond just the Foundation’s official wallets. One of the Foundation’s employees had their personal wallets compromised, further solidifying the suspicion of a targeted attack against the organization and its affiliates. This particular breach emphasizes the importance of continuous cybersecurity vigilance and the potential vulnerabilities that might exist in commonly used platforms.

Spreek, a reputed crypto commentator, brought attention to the event through a series of tweets. According to the shared data, the compromised addresses included https://etherscan.io/address/0x1bffb3a232e06e06a5d9e93c8df3321f768197c2 on Ethereum and https://ftmscan.com/address/0x596288a9090c9eedf87bb5f2da5d8e1bbc7bb935 on Fantom.

However, subsequent updates from Spreek indicated that multiple other Foundation wallets were drained both on Ethereum and Fantom. Furthermore, some non-tagged wallets, believed to be personal ones belonging to team members, were also impacted.

The attacker’s knowledge and skill were notably advanced. They managed to unwind complex DeFi configurations, suggesting a deep understanding of the DeFi ecosystem. The total profit accrued by the attacker is estimated at approximately $6.7 million. One of the wallets, believed to belong to a team member, incurred a significant loss of $3.4 million.