Google to Pay USD$9.5m Over Location Tracking; Twitter to Increase Political Ads on Platform

by Hannah Dillon on 4th Jan 2023 in News

In today's ExchangeWire news digest: Google agrees to pay USD$9.5m (~£7.9m) to settle a location tracking lawsuit; Twitter announces it will relax its policy on political ads on the site; and Grubhub faces a USD$3.5m (~£2.2m) fine for deceiving customers in Washington D.C.

Google pays to end location tracking suit

Google has agreed to pay USD$9.5m (~£7.9m) and change how it tells users about how it collects and uses their location data. The concessions from the tech behemoth are intended to settle a lawsuit in Washington D.C, which accused the company of "deceiving users and invading their privacy".

Google has continuously denied any wrongdoing, however has agreed to deliver an annual compliance report over the next four years to prove it is sticking to the settlement’s terms.

Twitter to allow more political ads

According to the latest policy change from Elon Musk, Twitter intends to expand political advertising on the platform. The social media site previously banned most political ads back in 2019, with then-CEO Jack Dorsey stating, “We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought.”

Twitter also revealed it would soften its policy on cause-based advertising in the US, allowing call to action ads on topics such as the environment, economy, and social justice.

Grubhub fined USD$3.5m over deceptive practices

Food delivery company Grubhub has been ordered to pay USD$3.5m (~£2.9m) to customers in Washington D.C after overcharging them. A lawsuit filed by D.C Attorney General Karl Racine accused Grubhub of imposing hidden fees on customers and inflating the cost of items above the restaurants’ own prices.

Racine concluded that these actions violated D.C’s Consumer Protection and Procedures Act, advising customers in the affected area would receive USD$2.7m (~£2.2m) of the settlement directly.