€403m Fine Slaps Google Over User Location Data Mishandling

Google Ireland has been fined €403 million by Ireland's data watchdog following a six-year probe into its handling of user location data. The Irish Data Protection Commission found that Google failed to meet EU rules on the 'lawfulness and fairness' of processing and retaining location data, as well as transparency obligations.

The fine is one of the largest ever imposed under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Google's practices were investigated by the commission after a complaint was filed in 2017. The company has been given three months to appeal the decision.

The investigation found that Google did not provide users with sufficient information about how their location data would be used, and failed to obtain adequate consent from users before processing the data.