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TechFading · day 3

Ireland fines Google €403M over unlawful location-data tracking

DPC ruling closes a six-year GDPR inquiry into Web & App Activity, Location History and Location Accuracy, with Google given six months to fix its practices.

newest coverage 3h agosummary written 1d ago158 pieces4.9k likes & upvotes114 comments NewswiresMastodonBlueskyRedditHacker NewsXGoogle News

What to know

  • The DPC fined Google €403m (about $462-463m) for unlawfully processing location data via Web & App Activity, Location History and Location Accuracy between May 2018 and February 2020.
  • The regulator found users could have been unaware their location was used to target ads or infer personal details, and that data was retained longer than necessary.
  • Google must bring its processing into compliance within six months; it says the policies at issue are historical and have since been overhauled.
  • Consumer groups that filed the original complaint six years ago say the case shows EU enforcement of GDPR is too slow relative to the harm caused.

“Today marks an important milestone in the effort to protect our rights online. People must be able to understand what they are agreeing to without being deceived or manipulated into making choices they otherwise would never have made”

Finn Myrstad, Director of digital policy, Norwegian Consumer Council · Guardian ↗ · Sep 20

Google Fined companyData Protection Commission (Ireland) Lead GDPR regulator for Google in the EUGraham Doyle Deputy Commissioner, DPCBEUC (European Consumer Organisation) Original complainantNorwegian Consumer Council (Forbrukerrådet) Research body behind original complaint

Ireland fines Google €403M over unlawful location-data tracking
theguardian.com

How it unfolded 4 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments

Peak 64 pieces in one hour at Sep 21, 5 AM; 158 pieces over 3 days (108 articles · 47 posts · 3 comments) Sep 21, 4 AM — 10 pieces · 8 articles · 2 posts — Newswires 8, Mastodon 2Sep 21, 5 AM — 64 pieces · 57 articles · 7 posts — Newswires 55, Mastodon 6, X 2, +1 moreSep 21, 6 AM — 4 pieces · 1 article · 3 posts — Reddit 2, Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Sep 21, 7 AM — 17 pieces · 13 articles · 4 posts — Newswires 7, Google News 6, Mastodon 4Sep 21, 8 AM — 8 pieces · 1 article · 7 posts — Mastodon 5, Hacker News 1, Reddit 1, +1 moreSep 21, 9 AM — 4 pieces · 2 articles · 2 posts — Hacker News 2, Newswires 2Sep 21, 10 AM — 4 pieces · 2 articles · 2 posts — Mastodon 2, Newswires 2Sep 21, 11 AM — 10 pieces · 8 articles · 2 posts — Google News 7, Hacker News 1, Mastodon 1, +1 moreSep 21, 12 PM — 10 pieces · 5 articles · 5 posts — Newswires 5, Mastodon 4, Reddit 1Sep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 comment — Reddit 1, Newswires 1Sep 21, 3 PM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Newswires 3Sep 21, 4 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Sep 21, 5 PM — 4 pieces · 1 article · 2 posts · 1 comment — Hacker News 1, Mastodon 1, Reddit 1, +1 moreSep 21, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 21, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 21, 8 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Sep 21, 9 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 21, 10 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Reddit 1Sep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 22, 9 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Sep 22, 10 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 22, 11 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Yesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quiet 1–34
Sep 22yesterdaynow · 12:59 AM ET
  1. 4

    Global outlets recirculate fine in dollar terms

    Wire services and tech outlets across regions (Android Authority, Rio Times, Ghacks, Indian Express, Premium Times) republished the ruling, converting the €403m penalty to roughly $460-463m and noting Google's misuse of location history and web activity data.

    1. 1 outlet Google gets another $460 million fine for misusing user data

      first by Android Authority, 1d ago

    • Mathrubhumi_English@mastodon.social

      Google has been fined €403 million by Ireland’s data watchdog for unlawfully processing users’ location data under EU privacy rules https:// english.mathrubhumi.com/techno logy/google-fined-403-million-euros-location-data-eu-fg82jdjz?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon # Google # GDPR # Privacy # DataProtection # EU

      Mathrubhumi_English@mastodon.socialMastodon2d ago1▲view on Mastodon ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch

    • Unless its going to be somewhere in the range of 100 billion than they really aren't going to see change. Make it so they do not risk letting it happen again, they are worth supposedly around 4 trillion and the fines they receive should be punishment where they will not repeat the action again.

      Shiplord13r/news1d agoview on r/news ↗
    • DailyCyberSecurity@infosec.exchange

      Discover the details behind the massive Google location data fine. The Irish DPC penalized the tech giant 403 million euros for GDPR privacy violations. # Google # GDPR # DataPrivacy # CyberSecurity # TechNews https:// meterpreter.org/google-locatio n-data-fine/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

      DailyCyberSecurity@infosec.exchangeMastodon1d ago1▲view on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. 2

    Google says the flagged policies are historical and updated

    A Google spokesperson responded to the ruling by saying the practices in question predate changes the company made to its location tools.

    “This case centres around historical policies that have since been updated. From 2019 onwards, we've significantly evolved our practices and launched robust tools that make managing location data simple.”
    — Google spokesperson
    • clickhere@mastodon.ie

      “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. “The retention of users’ location data for longer than necessary aggravated this loss of control.” ➡️ Google fined…

      clickhere@mastodon.ieMastodon2d ago7▲view on Mastodon ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 5 posts in this stretch

    • Google hit with €403m fine by Irish privacy regulator for location data misuse. First major fine for Google by DPC. In total, €4.4bn in privacy fines on big tech firms by DPC. (Most tied up in appeal.) Fines imposed on behalf of EU go to Irish taxpayer.

      @adrianwecklerX2d agoview on X ↗
    • euractiv_politics@eupolicy.social

      Google fined €403 million for location data privacy breaches https://www. euractiv.com/news/google-fined -e403-million-for-location-data-privacy-breaches/?utm_source=eac&utm_medium=mastodon&utm_campaign=%40euractiv_politics%40eupolicy.social

      euractiv_politics@eupolicy.socialMastodon2d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  3. 3

    Consumer groups welcome ruling but call enforcement too slow

    BEUC and the Norwegian Consumer Council, whose research underpinned the original complaint, praised the decision but criticized the six-year timeline as disproportionate to the seriousness of the violations.

    “the time needed to come to this conclusion is disproportionate with the seriousness of the infringement” arguing “late enforcement can be as harmful as no enforcement at all…”
    — Agustín Reyna, director general, BEUC
    1. 24 outlets Google Fined More Than €400 Million by Irish Regulator Over Location Data Privacy Breaches

      first by Yahoo Finance, 2d ago · also Daily Tribune, Le Monde.fr, Le Monde EN, France 24 EN, France 24, Fortune +17

      15 more headlines
    • EdwinG@mstdn.moimeme.ca

      Ireland’s 🇮🇪 Data Protection Commission (DPC) gives a €403M fine to Google for multiple GDPR violations related to processing users’ location data https://www. bleepingcomputer.com/news/secu rity/google-fined-403-million-over-location-data-privacy-violations/ - - - La Coimisiún um Chosaint Sonraí (DPC) irlandaise 🇮🇪 donne une amende de 403M€ à…

      EdwinG@mstdn.moimeme.caMastodon2d ago1▲view on Mastodon ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 15 posts in this stretch

    • It’s probably more like €150M in reality, just short of €30M annually. But Germany spends €100M a year on domestic GDPR. So Irelands spend doesn’t seem that bad when you consider it monitors global data infrastructure. As well as dealing with cross border litigation. Still, it would be nice if it actually broke even!

      Kooky_Guide1721r/europe2d agoview on r/europe ↗
    • clarinette@mastodon.online

      https://www. reuters.com/business/media-tel ecom/irish-regulator-fines-google-403-million-over-location-data-processing-2026-09-21/

      clarinette@mastodon.onlineMastodon2d ago1▲view on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  4. 1

    DPC fines Google €403m for GDPR location-data breaches

    The Commission found Google's processing of location data between 25 May 2018 and 4 February 2020 was not lawful, fair or transparent and that data was retained too long; it ordered Google to bring processing into compliance within six months.

    “As a result of Google's failures in this regard, 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.”
    — Graham Doyle, deputy commissioner, DPC

    1. 21 outlets first by Silicon UK, 2d ago · also The Cyber Express, CyberInsider, SabaNet, Infosecurity, Agence France-Presse, TRT World +14 · read ↗

    2. 14 outlets Google Fined By Irish Privacy Regulator For Location Data

      first by MediaPost, 2d ago · also Security Affairs, SiliconANGLE, Cyber Security News, hromadske, BleepingComputer, Business Plus +7

      14 more headlines
    5 more claims →
  5. background

    DPC opens own-volition inquiry into Google's location data — The Irish Data Protection Commission, acting as lead supervisory authority, launched an inquiry into Google's Web & App Activity, Location History and Location Accuracy features after complaints from European consumer rights groups including BEUC.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 5 outlets Google is fined more than €400m by Irish regulator over its use of location data

    first by Guardian, 2d ago · also The Guardian, EUobserver, UPI, BBC

    4 more headlines
  2. 2 outlets Google fined $463 million for breaching EU rule on location data

    first by Indian Express, 2d ago · also Premium Times Nigeria

    2 more headlines
  3. 2 outlets Ireland's Data Protection Commission Fines Google €403 Million Over Location Data Privacy Violations

    first by Ghacks, 1d ago · also Rio Times

    1 more headline
  4. 2 outlets Google hit with $463 million fine for EU location data rule breach - ABC News

    first by Breaking News, Latest News and Videos, 2d ago · also Engadget

    2 more headlines
  5. 2 outlets Google’s tracking of Europeans spawns $462 million fine

    first by Courthouse News, 2d ago · also Courthouse News Service

and 2 smaller pieces

What people are saying 13 voices from 3 sites · best of 23 · verbatim