JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi’s Supreme Court says a state lawsuit against Google alleging violations of student privacy should stay in a northeast Mississippi court.
The court voted 6-2 on Thursday to deny an appeal by the unit of California-based Alphabet Inc. Google wanted the Lowndes County lawsuit dismissed, saying Mississipi Attorney General Jim Hood filed it in the wrong place.
A three-justice panel denied the appeal earlier, but Google asked the full court to reconsider.
Hood says Google violates Mississippi consumer protection law by selling ads using data from school services.
Hood wants a judge to order Google to stop the practice. The suit says Google could be fined $10,000 for every student account in Mississippi. With half of Mississippi districts using Google services, that amount could top $2.5 billion.