A California resident has filed a class action lawsuit against Google, alleging that the company's virtual agent services provided to Verizon call centers violate the California Invasion of Privacy Act by recording and transcribing phone conversations without obtaining prior consent from callers.
Plaintiff Misael Ambriz filed the class action lawsuit in federal court against Google, citing violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).
According to court documents, the CIPA prohibits any person or entity from tapping into or making unauthorized connections with any telegraph or telephone wire, reading or attempting to read the contents of any communication without the consent of all parties involved, or using any information obtained in such a manner.
In the lawsuit, Ambriz claims that he called a Verizon call center several times in January 2023 with the expectation that his communications would be between him and Verizon only. Ambriz alleges that during these calls, he would have to interact with a "virtual agent" that was being provided by a third party, Google, before being transferred to a live agent.
According to the lawsuit, Google's virtual agent services are provided through a customer service product called Google Cloud Contact Center AI (GCCCAI). When customers first call Verizon, they have to first interact with the virtual agent, which never identifies itself as being provided by Google, leading customers to reasonably believe the live agent is being provided by Verizon. The lawsuit claims that even after the call is transferred to a live agent, GCCCAI will continue to record and transcribe the conversation between Californians and Verizon customer service representatives. The transcription is allegedly used to provide suggested replies and actions to the live agent.
According to the lawsuit, these actions are taken without first obtaining consent from Verizon customers.
The lawsuit alleges that Google violates the CIPA by recording, accessing, reading and learning the contents of conversations between Californians and Verizon customer service representatives without obtaining prior consent from the parties involved.
Ambriz is demanding a jury trial to seek statutory damages of $5,000 per violation for each member of the proposed class, plus interest, restitution, court costs, attorney fees and other relief. He is represented in this case by attorney Neal J. Deckant, of Bursor & Fisher, in Walnut Creek.
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, case number 3:23-cv-05437