Ireland Data Regulator Fines Google $463,000,000 Over Location Tracking

Ireland’s data protection regulator has hit Google with a $463,000,000 fine over how the company handled users’ location information.

The Data Protection Commission says the penalty follows an inquiry into Google’s processing of location data from May 25th, 2018 to February 4th, 2020.

Regulators found breaches of European Union privacy rules tied to three features: Web & App Activity, Location History and Location Accuracy. The violations include keeping location records longer than necessary.

The probe opened in February 2020 after complaints from European consumer groups including BEUC.

Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle says people may not have known their location was feeding ads or interest profiles.

“As a result of Google’s failures in this regard, individuals could have been unaware that their location was being used to, for example, influence them with ads or to infer their interests, and could lose control over their personal data. The retention of users’ location data for longer than necessary aggravated this loss of control.”

Google must bring its processing into compliance within six months.

The company called the case a matter of historical policies and says that since 2019 it has added auto-delete options, on-device Timeline storage and more controls over how location data is used in advertising.

The fine is the DPC’s fourth-largest against a major tech firm.

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