Google fined €403m by Irish data watchdog
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What did the Irish Data Protection Commission fine Google for?
Turning now to news, in the last hour that Google has been hit with a massive fine. The Data Protection Commission has fined the tech giant four hundred and three million euro over how it processed users location data, one of the largest GDPR penalties issued by the Irish regulator. For more than this, I'm joined by RT's work and technology correspondent Brian O'Donovan. Morning, Brian. Good morning, David. What did Google do here?
So this is all as you say about location data. So effectively if you use your Google Maps, if you use Google to browse, data is created.
How does Google’s location‑data collection affect user privacy and advertising?
Information is created. Google can see where you are. That's very, very sensitive and potentially valuable information because you can then use that information to infer your interests, or you can use that information to sell advertising to you and to push certain ads into your feeds. Because it's valuable data and because it's very important data, it is protected by I'm sure a term that everybody knows now, the GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation. This is the EU's set of data protection rules. And this information has to be kept safe, it has to be handled in a very certain way and it has to be handled in a way that is fair and transparent. So what happened here is that the Data Protection Commission back in February twenty twenty launched its own investigation into Google after receiving a number of complaints from European consumer watchdogs across Europe because remember the reason Ireland is involved here is because Google is headquartered in Ireland, so it is the data protection commission here in Dublin that has to investigate Google.
Why is the GDPR relevant to Google’s handling of location information?
It launched this investigation and it found, David, that there were failures. And in a statement today, the Data Protection Commission has said that failures by Google in the way it handled this location information meant that people could have been unaware that their location was being used to influence them with ads or to infer their interests. And it also meant that people could lose control over their personal data, the retention of users' location data. data for longer than necessary aggravated this loss of control, the Data Protection Commission said in a statement issued in the last hour.
Okay. Is this gonna change anything, Brian, in the way Google operates and the way people who use Google uh might interact with it?
Interestingly, David, Google has issued a statement also in the last few minutes, very short, just two lines, basically saying this is historic. We have fixed these problems.
What changes has Google announced to address the data‑handling issues?
They're saying since twenty nineteen we've introduced a range of measures to make sure that it is more fair and it is more transparent and it is possible to switch off these location services when you're talking about your Google Maps or your Google browsers or your Android phones. They're saying this is also School stuff. It has been fixed. It has been sorted. Typically the tech companies will say that, of course. The Data Protection Commission, from its perspective, will say yes, but we looked at a snapshot, we looked at a moment in time and we found these breaches. You mentioned the fine there, four hundred and three million euro eye watering amount of money.
Will Google pay the €403 million fine or appeal the decision?
Will they pay it? We'll have to wait and see, David. Chances are they may well appeal this and we've seen fine after fine after fine being appealed, which means that the big fines against the big tech companies typically do not get paid, they get tied up in appeals and legal challenges that can go on for years.
Okay, Brian O'Donovan RT's work and technology correspondent. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What did the Irish Data Protection Commission fine Google for?
0:00–0:33
2
How does Google’s location‑data collection affect user privacy and advertising?
0:33–1:32
3
Why is the GDPR relevant to Google’s handling of location information?
1:32–2:20
4
What changes has Google announced to address the data‑handling issues?
2:20–2:53
5
Will Google pay the €403 million fine or appeal the decision?
2:53–3:14