Why The Federal Court Should Throw The Book At Google Over Location Data Tracking
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Published 3 hours ago:
April 20, 2021 at 12:00 pm
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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has had a significant win against Google. The Federal Court found Google misled some Android users about how to disable personal location tracking.
Will this decision actually change the behaviour of the big tech companies? The answer will depend on the size of the penalty awarded in response to the misconduct.
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In this historic photo, military personnel are seen moving “Jumbo” to Trinity Site. One of the concerns of the scientists who built the “Gadget” nuclear device that was detonated at Trinity Site in 1945, was that the bomb might not actually go off. In order to preserve the 13 pounds of plutonium in case of failed detonation, an 80 ton steel vessel named “Jumbo” was built with the intention of imploding the device inside. The $12 million vessel was never used for that purpose because by the time the test was nearly ready, scientists were confident that it would work. Instead, “Jumbo” was suspended on a steel tower 800 meters from ground zero. The tower was completely destroyed in the explosion, but “Jumbo” remained very much intact. Later, the military tried to destroy it using eight 500 pound bombs, but only succeeded in blowing the ends off of it. What remains can still be
Why Australian courts should drag Google for its dubious location tracking practices An independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists. An independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has had a significant win against Google. The Federal Court found Google misled some Android users about how to disable personal location tracking.
Will this decision actually change the behavior of the big tech companies? The answer will depend on the size of the penalty awarded in response to the misconduct.
In theory, the penalty is A$1.1 million per contravention. There is a contravention each time a reasonable person in the relevant class is misled. So the total award could, in theory, amount to many millions of dollars.
By New Mexico Museum of Space History
• 4 hours ago
Credit Trinity test marker Reservations for the October Trinity Site motor coach tour, hosted by the New Mexico Museum of Space History and International Space Hall of Fame Foundation, are now being taken through the museum’s website. The tour, which is pending current Department of Health restrictions due to the pandemic, is scheduled for Saturday, October 2, 2021. Trinity Site is where the world’s first atomic bomb was detonated in 1945.
White Sands Missile Range typically opens Trinity Site to the public on the first Saturdays in April and October, although both events in 2020 and the April 2021 tour were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Several thousand people usually visit the site on those dates.
Image: Henry Perks / Unsplash
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The Federal Court has found Google misled some users about personal location data collected through Android devices for two years, from January 2017 to December 2018.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) says this decision is a “world first” in relation to Google’s location privacy settings. The ACCC now intends to seek various orders against Google. These will include monetary penalties under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), which could be up to A$10 million or 10% of Google’s local turnover.