Google Slapped with $463 Million Fine for GDPR Location Data Breach

Google has been hit with a hefty fine of $463 million for breaching the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules. The Irish Data Protection Commission found that Google mishandled users' location data in its Web & App Activity and Location History settings, as well as in its Location Accuracy feature on Android devices.

The investigation, which began six years ago, examined how Google applied the GDPR from 2018 to February 2020. Regulators said that location data is a type of personal data that can be used to infer someone's location and can have both benefits and harms to individuals.

Google stated that it has since updated its practices and launched tools to make managing location data easier. The company's European headquarters is based in Dublin, which makes Ireland the lead regulator for Google in the EU.