Google Slammed with €403m Fine for Location Tracking Practices

Google faces a €403 million fine over location tracking, a penalty that stems from arguments first made in November 2018 by seven consumer groups. The groups accused Google of steering Android owners into sharing their whereabouts and using this information for advertising without proper permission.

The complaint was lodged under Article 80(1) of the GDPR, which allows non-profit bodies to act on an individual's mandate. The evidence base was a report from Forbrukerrådet titled 'Every Step You Take: How deceptive design lets Google track users 24/7.'

Google rejected the characterization at the time, stating that Location History was off by default and could be edited or deleted.

The Data Protection Commission found that Google infringed the requirements of lawfulness and fairness in its processing of location data through Web & App Activity and Location History.

The inquiry window starts on 25 May 2018, but Google Ireland Limited became the controller under Google's own policy on 22 January 2019. The decision is addressed to Google Ireland Limited, leaving open how processing in those earlier months was attributed.