Google Hit With $463M Fine for EU Location Data Rule Breach

Google has been slapped with a massive fine of $463 million by Ireland's Data Protection Commission for breaching EU location data rules. The tech giant mishandled users' location data in its Web & App Activity and Location History settings, as well as the Android mobile operating system.

The investigation, which began six years ago, found that Google did not process location data fairly or transparently when it was collected through the EU's General Data Protection Regulation from 2018 to February 2020. The regulator said that location data is a type of personal data that can be used to infer someone's location.

Google has since updated its practices and launched tools to make managing location data simpler, but regulators say it's too little, too late.