A Maricopa County Superior Court judge denied a motion of continuance by Google that documents related to a lawsuit by an Arizona prosecutor against the tech giant about users’ location data should be made available to the public.
The decision by Judge Timothy J. Thomason on Thursday came in response to a May 27 lawsuit against Google for deceptive and unfair practices used to obtain users’ location data, claiming the company exploited the information for its advertising business.
The lawsuit, filed under the state’s Consumer Fraud Act, was an effort by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich to stop Google’s collection of user data and retain “monetary relief up to and including forcing Google to disgorge gross receipts arising from its Arizona activities.”
During the Arizona prosecutor’s pretrial investigation of the company, Brnovich received documents that he argued needed to be publicly known. The state’s request for the disclosure was supported by Rep. Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican.
“The Attorney General appears to have mischaracterized our services. We have always built privacy features into our products and provided robust controls for location data. We look forward to setting the record straight,” Google Spokesperson Jose Castaneda told the Washington Examiner.
Thomason weighed arguments filed July 24 by Assistant Attorney General Beau Roysden asking Thomason to dismiss Google’s motion to continue to have its documents sealed by the court or, at least, postpone a decision until the company attempts to have the state’s entire lawsuit thrown out.
“The State has the better argument. The Court believes firmly that Court proceedings have a strong presumption of being open to the public. As such, the Complaint and Exhibits might be information that should be made available to the public, even if the MTD is granted,” Thomason wrote.
“Judge’s ruling is another step towards transparency and holding Google accountable in our consumer fraud tracking lawsuit,” said Brnovich.
Judge’s ruling is another step towards transparency and holding Google accountable in our consumer fraud tracking lawsuit.
“The Court believes firmly that Court proceedings have a strong presumption of being open to the public.” pic.twitter.com/Kjv48kwMKI
— Mark Brnovich (@GeneralBrnovich) August 6, 2020
Thomason, though, sided with the state of Arizona, noting the documents can be made public at the discretion of the prosecutor even if a later ruling grants Google’s motion to dismiss the case.
However, if a later ruling deems a similar lawsuit frivolous and designed only for the purpose of getting Google’s information into the public, the court may rule otherwise and seal the documents.
*This article has been updated to clarify the judge’s decision and to include a Google spokesman’s statement
