Google has been fined €403 million (around $462 million) by Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) for violating European Union data protection rules over how it handled users' location data.
The penalty follows an investigation into Google's processing of location information between May 2018 and February 2020. The DPC found that the company's practices involving features such as Web & App Activity, Location History and Location Accuracy did not comply with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), NDTV reported.
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According to the regulator, Google's processing of location information was not sufficiently lawful, fair or transparent. Users were potentially unaware that their location data could be processed to support targeted advertising and to infer information about their interests. The DPC also raised concerns over the retention of location data for longer than necessary, saying this further limited users' control over their personal information.
The investigation was prompted by complaints filed in 2018 by European consumer organisations from several countries, coordinated by the European consumer organisation BEUC.
Alongside the financial penalty, the DPC has ordered Google to bring its location-data processing practices into full compliance with the GDPR within six months.
Google said the decision relates to historical policies that have since been changed. The company pointed to privacy controls and tools introduced from 2019 onwards to give users greater control over location information. Google has indicated that it plans to appeal the decision.
The 403 million euro penalty is one of the largest imposed by Ireland's privacy regulator and its fourth-largest fine. The DPC's biggest penalty was the 1.2 billion euro fine imposed on Meta in 2023 over data transfers to the United States.
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The regulator also said three other investigations involving Google remain at an advanced stage, including an inquiry into the use of Europeans' personal data for artificial intelligence training, as per the Reuters.
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