European Union fines Google 403 mn euros for data location breach

Ireland's data protection watchdog, acting on behalf of the European Union, said Monday that it had fined Google 403 million euros ($462 million) for improperly using users' location data.

The technology giant infringed the EU's General Data Protection Regulation between May 2018 and February 2020, Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC), which is charged with applying the bloc's rules over the issue, said in a statement.

In its final decision after opening an inquiry in February 2020, the DPC ruled that Google infringed the GDPR "in respect of the lawfulness and fairness of its processing of location data in web and app activity and location history".

DPC deputy commissioner Graham Doyle said that "as a result of Google's failures... individuals could have been unaware that their location was being used to, for example, influence them with ads or to infer their interests".

He added that "the retention of users' location data for longer than necessary aggravated this loss of control".

Alongside the fine, the regulator said it had "ordered Google to bring its processing into compliance within six months".

In response, Google said the "case centres around historical policies that have since been updated".

"From 2019 onwards, we've significantly evolved our practices and launched robust tools that make managing location data simple," the company added in a statement.