Google Scandals

Google began in 1998 with the goal of organizing the world’s information and making it accessible to everyone. For their efforts, they have grown into the go-to search engine for 90% of the world’s searches. But Google has expanded well beyond search and is now a massive tech giant, providing a wide range of services and products: online advertising, YouTube, Android phones.

As the company grew over the past 25-plus years, it has made some questionable decisions concerning many of its products, leading to several Google scandals.

The following is a brief summary of some of the most recent Google scandals. Among them: the spread of misinformation on its products; antitrust allegations concerning its search engine, ad tech, Google Shopping, and Play Store; and privacy concerns surrounding its Google Assistant technology and Incognito mode in the Google Chrome browser.

Privacy Violations Lead to Scandal and Lawsuits

Privacy is the subject of several Google scandals. A class-action Google Assistant lawsuit accuses Google of violating privacy policies. The plaintiffs, who had Assistant on their devices, claimed Google Assistant activated and recorded them even when not intentionally triggered.

In one of the more recent Google lawsuit settlements, the Google Incognito lawsuit accused the tech giant of collecting data on its users while they were using Incognito mode, which many believed to be private. This lawsuit settled in December 2023 with Google agreeing to delete billions of data records. The lawsuit did not award damages to the class, but plaintiffs retain the right to pursue individual lawsuits.

Take the quiz to see if you qualify to file an Incognito mode lawsuit.

Google Makes Misinformation Profitable

A recent investigation discovered that Google’s non-English ad policies funded numerous websites that spread misinformation across Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Google’s advertising algorithms were placing major brands on unreliable websites, resulting in millions of dollars for the websites.

Meanwhile, YouTube, the video sharing platform owned by Google, often recommends videos that users find disturbing, including those containing conspiracy theories, misinformation, and racism. The recommendation algorithm appears to push users towards harmful and extreme content, according to a recent study.

Google Is Accused of Anticompetitive Practices

A common theme of the recent Google scandals is allegations of anticompetitive practices spanning several of Google’s most well-known products.

Google Pushes Users Towards Google Shopping Service

On September 10, 2024, the European Commission upheld its 2017 decision and a €2.4 billion fine against Google for its anti-competitive promotion of its Google Shopping service. Using its dominance as the world’s most prolific search engine, shoppers were shown Google Shopping results over all the competition.

Google Play Stifles Competition

In another antitrust case, Google was accused of acting as a monopoly by controlling competition in its Google Play store and inflating pricing for consumers. The lawsuit argued that Google required that in-app transactions go through its payment service and stifled competing app stores on Android devices. This Google Play lawsuit settled in December 2023 for $700 million.

Google Search & Ad Tech Antitrust Lawsuits

In August 2024, a federal judge ruled that Google search was a monopoly and violated antitrust laws. The Google antitrust case argued that the search giant struck agreements that made it the default search engine on popular phones and tablets like its Android phones and Apple iPhones and iPads, thus stifling competition.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice’s next antitrust lawsuit addresses Google’s monopoly on digital advertising, estimated to be a $200 billion industry. Google has its hands in buying ads, selling ads, and an ad exchange where the transactions take place. The government argues that Google used its position to create a monopoly over the ad tech industry. This latest antitrust lawsuit began in September 2024.

Google Gemini Finds Scandal in Offensive Images, Copyright Concerns

Google removed the image generator feature from its AI tool, called Gemini, after users complained that it created racially insensitive images. Google acknowledged that its image generation “got it wrong” and pledged to “do better.” It restored the image generator after several months of fixes.

Another prominent Gemini scandal concerns accusations of copyright infringement. Like other generative AI tools, Gemini trains by scouring and processing large amounts of online text and data, largely without the consent of the original creators of that content. Critics argue this amounts to copyright infringement, and in March 2024, French regulators fined Google €250 million ($271 million) for breaching its copyright laws.

These are just a small sampling of the numerous scandals Google has faced since its inception.