Google penalized millions by EU over location tracking rules

What Happened

Google received a 403 million euro penalty, equal to 463 million dollars, from the European Union for mishandling user location data. Ireland's Data Protection Commission announced the decision on Monday following an investigation that started six years ago.

Investigation Details

Investigators found that Google failed to lawfully or fairly process location data inside users' Web and App Activity settings, which track search and browsing history. The tech company also mishandled information gathered through Location History services on mobile phones and broke rules regarding the Location Accuracy feature on Android devices. The probe covered the period from when the EU privacy rule book took effect in 2018 until February 2020.

Reactions And Context

Ireland serves as the lead regulator for the U.S. tech giant in the 27-nation EU because the company bases its European headquarters in Dublin. Google stated that the case focuses on past policies that have since been updated, adding that the firm has evolved its practices and launched better tools to manage location data since 2019. Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle noted that location data can reveal deeply private details about a person. This penalty marks the fourth largest EU privacy fine issued by the Irish watchdog, which still has three ongoing investigations involving Google.