Google’s tracking of Europeans spawns $462 million fine

Ireland's Data Protection Commission fined Google 403 million euros, about $462 million, for unlawfully handling users' location data across Web & App Activity, Location History, and Location Accuracy features. The investigation covered practices from May 2018 through February 2020 and found Google kept data too long and failed to explain its practices clearly, following complaints filed by seven consumer groups in 2018.

BEUC's director general welcomed the ruling but criticized the near eight-year delay, saying Google had tracked hundreds of millions of Europeans in ways that could expose visits to schools, hospitals, and places of worship. Google says the case concerns 'historical policies that have since been updated,' pointing to auto-deletion defaults and on-device Timeline storage introduced since 2019, and plans to appeal.

The fine is Ireland's fourth largest under EU privacy law, with three more Google inquiries reportedly at an advanced stage. Collection is on hold pending Irish High Court approval and any appeal.

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