Google Slapped with €403 Million Fine for Location Data Violations
Google has been hit with yet another major fine from the EU, this time for €403 million ($463 million) due to location data violations. This latest penalty follows a string of previous fines, including a nearly $1 billion fine in July for favoring its own services in Search and Google Play.
The investigation into Google's handling of location data dates back to 2020, when Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) started looking into complaints from consumer rights groups. The DPC found that between May 2018 and February 2020, Google didn't fairly or lawfully process location data in Web & App Activity and Location History.
Google failed to meet transparency rules for all three location features and also violated GDPR location data retention rules in Web & App Activity and Location Accuracy. The company has been given six months to pay the fine and make its location data processing compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).