Google Slapped with €403 Million Fine for Location Data Misuse
Ireland's Data Protection Commission has fined Google €403 million for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by processing location data without users' consent. The investigation, which began in February 2020, focused on three Google features: Web & App Activity, Location History, and Location Accuracy. Regulators found that Google failed to show compliance with the lawfulness, fairness, and transparency principle for Location Accuracy and did not meet its transparency obligations across all three features.
Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle commented that location data can reveal deeply personal information about individuals, even when combined only indirectly with other data Google holds. He indicated that because of the company's failures, individuals may have been unaware that their location was being used to influence them with advertising or to infer their interests.