Irish privacy regulator fines Google €403 million over location data processing

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.

($1 = 0.8712 euros)

Google was also ordered by the DPC to bring its processing into compliance within six months. The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

"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."

The DPC opened the inquiry in 2020 following complaints from several European consumer rights organisations, including the pan-European consumers' organisation BEUC, regarding Google's processing of location data.

DUBLIN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The lead EU data privacy regulator for most of the biggest internet companies fined Alphabet's Google GOOGL.O search engine €403 million ($463 million) after an inquiry into its processing of location data, Ireland's Data Protection Commission said on Monday.