Google Unable to Duck Wiretap Claims in Tax-Filing Class Actions

A consolidated lawsuit accusing Alphabet Inc.’s Google LLC of violating federal and state wiretapping laws by using code to track users’ sensitive financial information from online tax-filing websites can proceed, a California federal judge ruled.

Judge P. Casey Pitts of the US District Court for the Northern District of California denied Google’s motion to dismiss claims of wiretapping in violation of California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois laws, as well as federal wiretapping claims in the proposed class action.

Pitts shot down Google’s arguments that the plaintiffs consented to the tax sites’ use of Google Analytics and that the tool wasn’t …