US judge blocks group lawsuit against Google

A U.S. judge denied class action status to a lawsuit alleging Google illegally collected user data, preventing a group lawsuit against the tech giant. The judge ruled that individual assessments were needed to determine if Chrome users understood and consented to Google's data collection policies, dismissing the proposed class action with prejudice. This decision means the plaintiffs cannot refile the case as a class action. The ruling stems from a case where users claimed Google collected data without consent, even when not syncing their Chrome browsers. Google welcomed the decision, while the plaintiffs' lawyer declined to comment.