Google Wiretaps Multiple Tax-Filing Websites, Alleges Calif. Class Action
Nine plaintiffs filed a putative class action Thursday to thwart Google from wiretapping electronic communications on major online tax-filing websites offered by H&R Block, TaxAct and TaxSlayer, among others. Due to Google’s unlawful wiretapping conduct, U.S. consumers “have been involuntarily…
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transmitting their sensitive financial information to Google when they file their taxes online,” alleged the complaint (docket 5:23-cv-04191) in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Jose. The wiretapping was made possible by Google’s tracking pixel, which is embedded in the JavaScript of online tax preparation websites, said the class action. The tax preparation companies “sent private tax return information to Google through Google Analytics and its embedded tracking pixel, which was installed on their websites,” it said. These pixels “sent massive amounts of user data to Google to improve its ad business and enhance its other business tools,” it said. Disclosing tax-return information without consent is a crime, as is “aiding and abetting the unlawful disclosure of tax-return information,” it said. Inspecting “unlawfully obtained” tax-return information also is a crime, it said. The class action “seeks to certify putative subclasses of residents of various states who used the same websites,” it said. “The complaint alleges violations of state and federal wiretapping laws,” including the California Invasion of Privacy Act, the Federal Wiretap Act, the Florida Security of Communications Act, the Illinois Eavesdropping Act and the Texas Criminal Wiretap Act. Google didn’t comment.