According to the BBC, on September 21 local time, EU regulators ruled that Google had violated the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and decided to impose a fine of 403 million euros on Google.
The Irish Data Protection Commissioner determined that from the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018 until the investigation initiated by Irish regulators in February 2020, Google failed to protect users' location data properly in three specific areas: network and application activities, location history, and location accuracy. This violation contravenes the principles of legality, fairness, and transparency established by EU regulations.
Irish Data Protection Commissioner Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said: "Due to Google's mistakes, people may not realize that their location information is being used for advertising or used to infer their interests, and they may lose control over their personal data. The prolonged retention of user location data increases the loss of control over personal data."
Since Google’s European headquarters is located in Dublin, Ireland, the Irish Data Protection Authority is responsible for regulating Google’s data protection practices in the EU market. The authority imposed a fine of 403 million euros on Google and required it to carry out reforms within six months.
Regarding the ruling by the EU agency, a Google spokesperson responded: “This case involves historical policies that have already been updated. Since 2019, we have significantly improved our practices and introduced powerful tools that make the management of location data much simpler.”
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation came into effect in 2018. The regulation stipulates that if the protection of users' data is violated, a fine of up to 10 million euros or 2% of the company's annual revenue from the previous fiscal year may be imposed on those who commit violations. In more severe cases, a fine of up to 20 million euros or 4% of the company's annual revenue from the previous fiscal year may be imposed. The maximum fine is chosen based on the higher of these two amounts. Previously, tech companies such as Meta and Amazon in the United States were fined by the EU for violating this regulation.
