The Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC) has fined the American company Google 403 million euros for processing users' location data. The regulator announced this in a statement, citing a violation of the EU Data Protection Regulation (DPR) by the service.
The Commission stressed that Google's actions may have led to people not knowing that their location data was being used, for example, to target advertising to them or determine their interests, and may have led to a loss of control over their personal data.
“Location data is a category of personal data that is processed through location tracking“, the regulator said, noting the confidentiality of such information.
A number of European organizations filed a lawsuit against Google in 2020. In response to the fine, a Google spokesperson said that the case concerns the company's previous policies, which have since been amended. “Since 2019, we have significantly changed our approach and implemented effective tools to make it easier to manage location data“, RTE quoted Google as saying.
The Irish Data Protection Commission regularly fines large digital services for violating EU privacy rules. In addition to Google, the commission regulates Apple, TikTok and other digital giants because their European headquarters are located in Ireland. The regulator is currently conducting several dozen investigations into prominent digital companies.