EU Regulator Fines Google €403 Million Over Location Data Practices
The Irish Data Protection Commission said Google must fix how it collects and stores location information within six months after finding poor notice and excessive retention.
Overview
- The Irish Data Protection Commission imposed a €403 million penalty on Alphabet for processing users’ location data in ways that broke EU privacy rules.
- Regulators found violations tied to three features — Web & App Activity, Location History and Location Accuracy — saying users were not clearly told how location data was used and that the data was kept longer than necessary.
- The probe began after complaints from European consumer groups, including BEUC, and focused on practices carried out between 2018 and 2020.
- The DPC warned that the failures could let location signals be used to infer people’s interests and target ads without their knowledge, reducing users’ control over personal data.
- The fine is the DPC’s fourth-largest and follows more than €4 billion in penalties since 2018; the authority also said three other Google investigations are in advanced stages, signaling tougher EU enforcement ahead.