Ohio is part of a 40-state settlement with Google over its location tracking practices. The company has agreed to pay nearly $392 million in the largest multi-state privacy settlement in U.S. history.
The suit alleged Google misled users about how to disable tracking data - information that fueled the company's digital advertising business. An investigation found that Google gave consumers incomplete information about how to turn off tracking data in their account settings, and that a lesser known "Web & Activity" setting defaulted to "on" and continued to collect data. An investigation launched by a coalition of attorneys general found the practice dated back to 2014.
The settlement requires Google to be more transparent about location data and how to disable it, and limits collection and storage of certain kinds of information. State authorities say the settlement highlights the need for a national privacy law.
A separate lawsuit filed by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost involving self-preferencing by Google Search is still pending.
