Google fined €403 million for violating rules on geolocation data

Google was fined €403 million on Monday by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) for violating European data protection rules. The penalty concerns the way the company processed users’ geolocation data, including for certain services and products.

The authority determined that users may not have been adequately informed that their location was being used to influence advertisements or infer personal interests. As a result, they could lose control over their personal data, DPC Commissioner Graham Doyle explained.

The investigation was opened in 2020 following complaints filed by European consumer rights organizations. The inquiry examined the “Web & App Activity,” “Location History” and “Location Accuracy” features in relation to GDPR requirements.

Google argued that the penalty concerns older practices that have since been updated. The company says that, since 2019, it has improved its procedures and introduced tools for managing location data. The fine is the fourth-largest imposed by the DPC, which oversees Google at European level. The company is also the subject of three other investigations by the authority.