Google Faces Lawsuit Accusing Use of AI Assistant “Gemini” to Spy on Users

Google is facing a federal lawsuit in California accusing it of secretly using its artificial intelligence assistant Gemini to monitor users’ private communications across Gmail, Chat, and Meet, a move plaintiffs allege violates one of the United States’ strictest privacy laws.

Filed late Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the class-action lawsuit contends that Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., activated its Gemini AI tool across several of its communication platforms without user consent, granting the company access to private messages, attachments, and call data.

According to the filing, Google initially offered users the choice to opt in to Gemini features within Gmail, Chat, and Meet. However, the lawsuit claims the company quietly enabled the AI assistant by default, effectively allowing it to scan and analyze personal content sent through those applications.

While Google allows users to disable Gemini, doing so requires navigating “complex and buried” privacy settings, the complaint alleges. Users who fail to manually deactivate the feature could unknowingly permit Google to access and process their private communications for data-driven insights or product training.

The plaintiffs accuse Google of violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), a 1967 statute that prohibits the recording or interception of confidential communications without the consent of all parties involved.

The complaint, Thiel v. Google, case number 25-cv-09704, seeks to represent millions of users potentially affected by the alleged privacy breach. The lawsuit argues that Google’s conduct “amounts to digital wiretapping under the guise of artificial intelligence innovation.”

As of late Tuesday, Google did not respond to requests for comment submitted outside regular business hours.

The case underscores growing tension between rapid AI adoption and user privacy protections. Tech companies have increasingly integrated AI assistants into their platforms to improve productivity and automate tasks, but regulators and consumer advocates warn that the same systems could be used to collect sensitive data without transparency or consent.

Google, which has positioned Gemini as a key pillar of its AI strategy, has faced heightened scrutiny from lawmakers and privacy watchdogs worldwide over how it manages personal information across its services.

The lawsuit comes as Alphabet recently announced plans to issue $25 billion in corporate bonds to finance its expanding investments in AI infrastructure and development, signaling its intention to stay ahead in the global race against rivals such as Microsoft and OpenAI.