Google Slammed with €403m Fine for Misusing Location Data

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has imposed a €403m fine on Google for its handling of location data. This is the first major penalty levied against the tech giant by the Irish regulator, which bases its EU headquarters in Dublin.

The DPC launched a six-year investigation following complaints from European consumer rights organisations about how Google processed location data with some of its services and products between May 2018 and February 2020.

Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle explained that the fine relates to how Google handled web and app activity, location history, and location accuracy. He noted that 'location data is a type of personal data which is processed by way of location tracking and includes data collected or processed by Google, which by itself or in conjunction with other information an individual's location can be inferred.'

Google has stated that it will appeal the fine, focusing on specific legal issues where there is uncertainty. The company noted that its practices have 'since been updated' since 2019 and that it has launched tools to make managing location data simple.