Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) fined Google €403 million for breaching the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This penalty follows a 2020 inquiry sparked by complaints from European consumer rights groups. The investigation focused on user location data processing between May 2018 and February 2020.
The DPC, acting as the lead EU regulator for Google, found the company lacked transparency regarding location information collection. Regulators stated users were likely unaware their data was used to target advertisements or infer personal interests.
Google must bring its data processing operations into compliance within six months. A company spokesperson noted the fine addresses historical policies that have evolved since 2019.