By Dhirendra Tripathi

Investing.com – Alphabet stock (NASDAQ:) fell 2.6% Monday after states sued the company on charges Google illegally tracked users even when it did not have their explicit consent.

A wide-spread selling in the larger market also added to the stock’s pressure.  

Separate lawsuits have been filed in Indiana, Texas, Washington, and the District of Columbia alleging that Google tricked users by telling them that turning off the location history setting would stop Google from tracking their places. A user’s location could still be tracked by Google unless they also turned off settings in the web and app activity section, the attorney generals argued.

After an Associated Press 2018 report stated that Google records your movements, even though you tell it otherwise, the DC Attorney General Karl A. Racine started investigating Google’s practices.

We have provided strong controls over location data and privacy features in all of our products. Google stated that it will defend itself vigorously and correct the record,” CNET, a tech news site, said.

Cases related to privacy and using customer data to sell them to advertisers aren’t new to Google or for Facebook-parent Meta Platforms.

Arizona was involved in a similar lawsuit against Google.