Google Slammed with €403M Fine over Location Data Breaches

Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) has fined Google €403 million ($463 million) for breaching European Union data protection rules in its processing of users' location data.

The commission launched an inquiry into Google Ireland Limited's handling of location data after receiving complaints from several European consumer rights organizations. The investigation examined Google's processing of location data through three features, Web & App Activity, Location History, and Location Accuracy, between May 2018 and February 2020.

The regulator found that Google breached the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in relation to the lawfulness and fairness of its processing practices, as well as its accountability obligations. The DPC also found that Google failed to meet transparency requirements across all three features and retained users' location data for longer than necessary.

Google said it had significantly changed its practices from 2019 onward and introduced tools designed to make managing location data easier, noting that the case concerns historical policies.