Google spokesman José Castañeda told Reuters that the filing
"mischaracterises emails referencing unrelated second and third-hand
accounts."
The Alphabet unit's privacy disclosures have generated
regulatory and legal scrutiny in recent years amid growing public concerns
about online surveillance.
Users last June alleged in a lawsuit that Google unlawfully
tracked their Internet use when they were browsing Incognito in its Chrome
browser. Google has said it makes clear that Incognito only stops data from
being saved to a user's device and is fighting the lawsuit.
In a written update on trial preparations filed Thursday in
US district court, attorneys for the users said they "anticipate seeking
to depose" Pichai and Google Chief Marketing Officer Lorraine Twohill.
The attorneys, citing Google documents, said Pichai
"was informed in 2019 as part of a project driven by Twohill that
Incognito should not be referred to as 'private' because that ran 'the risk of
exacerbating known misconceptions about protections Incognito mode
provides.'"
The filing continued, "As part of those discussions,
Pichai decided that he 'didn't want to put incognito under the spotlight' and
Google continued without addressing those known issues."
Castañeda said teams "routinely discuss ways to improve
the privacy controls built into our services." Google's attorneys said
they would oppose efforts to depose Pichai and Twohill.
Last month, plaintiffs deposed Google vice president Brian
Rakowski, described in the filing as "the 'father' of Incognito
mode." He testified that though Google states Incognito enables browsing
"privately," what users expect "may not match" up with the reality,
according to the plaintiffs' write-up.
Google's attorneys rejected the summary, writing that
Rakowski also said terms including "private," "anonymous,"
and "invisible" with proper context "can be super helpful"
in explaining Incognito. © Reuters