Court got it right, Google says the plaintiffs voluntarily sent
Google all the internet usage information at issue.121
Moreover, Google argues, tracking cookies are routine.122
Pointing to cases describing cookies as, more or less,
innocuous,123 Google offers that courts “routinely” find no
actionable privacy invasion in cases involving tracking,
collation, and disclosure of internet usage information.124
Google gives particular attention to Low v. LinkedIn, where
the Northern District of California explained that “[e]ven
disclosure of personal information, including social security
numbers, does not constitute an ‘egregious breach of the
social norms’ to establish an invasion of privacy claim.”125
For purposes of California privacy law, Google’s
emphasis on tracking and disclosure amounts to a
smokescreen. What is notable about this case is how Google
accomplished its tracking. Allegedly, this was by overriding
the plaintiffs’ cookie blockers, while concurrently
announcing in its Privacy Policy that internet users could
121
Google Br. at 59 (emphasis in original).
122
Id.
123
Id. at 61 (citing, e.g., Pharmatrak, 329 F.3d at 14
(“Cookies are widely used on the internet by reputable
websites to promote convenience and customization.”)).
124
Id. at 62 (citing Stern v. Weinstein, 512 Fed. App’x 701,
702 (9th Cir. 2013)).
125
Low v. LinkedIn Corp., 900 F. Supp. 2d 1010, 1025 (N.D.
Cal. 2012).
53
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