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Google Fined €403 Million Over EU Location Data Practices

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Summary

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission fined Google €403 million for unlawfully or unfairly processing location data and for lacking transparency. The investigation covered practices from 2018 to February 2020; Google said it has since updated them.

Key points

  • Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said Google did not lawfully or fairly process location data in Web & App Activity and Location History.
  • Regulators also found Google failed to process personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently in Android’s Location Accuracy feature.
  • The investigation examined Google’s practices from the GDPR’s 2018 effective date through February 2020.
  • Google called the case about historical policies and said it had significantly changed its practices from 2019 onward, adding tools to manage location data.
  • The €403 million penalty is the fourth-largest EU privacy fine issued by Ireland’s watchdog.
  • The regulator said three other privacy investigations involving Google remain ongoing.

Article Details

Event Type
Regulatory fine for breaches of EU data privacy rules
Impact
Google was fined 403 million euros ($463 million) after Ireland’s Data Protection Commission found that it unlawfully or unfairly processed users’ location data and failed to provide adequate transparency. The findings concerned Web & App Activity, Location History, and Location Accuracy.

People

Graham DoyleDeputy Commissioner who commented on the benefits and privacy risks of location data.

Vendors

GoogleGoogle has been fined 403 million euros ($463 million) for breaching the European Union’s strict privacy rules because it mishandled users’ location data, the bloc’s data privacy watchdog said Monday.

Products

AndroidRegulators also found the company failed to be lawful, fair and transparent when it processed personal data in its Location Accuracy feature in the Android mobile operating system.Location AccuracyRegulators also found the company failed to be lawful, fair and transparent when it processed personal data in its Location Accuracy feature in the Android mobile operating system.Location Historyin users’ Web & App Activity, a Google setting that tracks browsing and search history, and in their Location History, a service that maps places they’ve been with their mobile phones.Web & App Activitysaid its investigation found Google did not lawfully or fairly process location data in users’ Web & App Activity, a Google setting that tracks browsing and search history, and in their Location History, a service

Countries

IrelandIreland’s Data Protection Commission said its investigation found Google did not lawfully or fairly process location data in users’ Web & App Activity, a Google setting that tracks browsing and search history, and in

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