POSTED BY Jared Bishop
Google has a serious issue on their hands with regards to wiretapping of Gmail users. However, any hope that consumers had against taking down the monstrous enterprise of Google was likely shot down in a decision by Judge Lucy Koh. Judge Koh, a United States District Judge for the Northern District of California, ruled that the case would not be allowed to proceed as a class action lawsuit due to the importance of individual consent issues.
The suit alleged that Google was taking users who used other Google products such as Google Apps and users who send emails to Gmail account holders, and creating Gmail accounts for these same users. These users allegedly did not agree to any terms for Gmail, nor did they agree to have a Gmail account Google allegedly used this data-mining information to target consumers with advertisements.
Judge Koh held that the individual consent issue far outweighed the potential for similar issues amongst potential plaintiffs. Koh ruled that a factual basis would need to be addressed in regards to each individual plaintiff to determine whether consent was or was not given to Google. This decision severely damages the plaintiffs’ argument as they have less power to encourage settlement with Google due to the fewer number of plaintiffs and potential damages.
Judge Koh’s decision was a giant one in favor of Google, but it was the right one. It would be virtually impossible for a jury to analyze to analyze thousands of consumers’ consent or failure to consent to Google’s actions. Google would essentially have to prove that each and every consumer consented to Google’s actions, which would cost millions in litigation fees.
With that being said, Judge Koh’s decision, virtually gives consumers a serious hole in their lawsuit against Google. While the decision saved Google millions in litigations fees, Koh’s decision hinders consumers’ financial power in pooling their financial interests to match the monster of Google. Consumers are more likely now to drop their suits as Google has a far less incentive to settle with individual or small groups of consumers.
