Alphabet's Google search engine has been slapped with a 403 million euros ($463 million) fine by the European Union after an inquiry into its processing of location data, a watchdog acting on behalf of the bloc said Monday.
Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DCP) found that Google infringed European Union privacy rules known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) through three of its specific features – "Web & App Activity," "Location History" and "Location Accuracy" – from 2018 to 2020.
"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, and could lose control over their personal data," DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said in a statement.
"The retention of users' location data for longer than necessary aggravated this loss of control."
It was the fourth-largest fine of the more than 4 billion euros in total levied by the DPC since it became the lead EU regulator for most big U.S. tech firms under the strict 2018 GDPR due to the location of companies' EU operations in Ireland.
Google was also ordered by the DPC to bring its processing into compliance within six months.
In response, the company said the "case centers around historical policies that have since been updated."
"From 2019 onward, we've significantly evolved our practices and launched robust tools that make managing location data simple," it added in a statement.
The DPC opened the inquiry in 2020 following complaints from several European consumer rights organizations, including the pan-European consumers' organisation BEUC, regarding Google's processing of location data.
The infringements included the lawfulness and fairness of Google's processing of location data in "Web & App Activity," an account setting that processes information related to users' activity on Google services, and "Location History," which keeps track of users' location through mobile devices.
Google is subject to three other ongoing statutory inquiries, all of which are at an advanced stage, the DPC added.
