Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai can be questioned in privacy lawsuit, judge rules: What you need to know

Picture courtesy: AFP

In the lawsuit filed in June 2020, users accused Google of illegally invading their privacy by tracking internet use while Google Chrome browsers were set in "private" mode.

The plaintiffs are arguing that Pichai has "unique, personal knowledge" of issues relating to the Chrome browser and privacy concerns, a Monday court filing showed.

Pichai in 2019 was warned that describing the company's Incognito browsing mode as "private" was problematic, yet it stayed the course because he did not want the feature "under the spotlight," according to a court filing in September.

US Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen in San Jose, California, said "a few documents establish that specific relevant information was communicated to, and possibly from, Pichai," and therefore supported a request from the plaintiffs' lawyers to question him.

Google has earlier said it makes clear that Incognito only stops data from being saved to a user's device and is fighting the lawsuit.