Google fined record 44 million pound by French data protection watchdog
January 22, 2019 00:11
The French data protection watchdog CNIL has fined Google a record 50 million (Rs 404 crore) for failing to provide users with transparent and understandable information on its data use policies.
For the first time, the company was fined using new terms laid out in the pan-European general data protection regulation. The maximum fine for large companies under the new law is 4 per cent of annual turnover, meaning the theoretical maximum fine for Google is almost 4 billion.
The fine was levied, CNIL said, because Google made it too difficult for users to find essential information, such as the data-processing purposes, the data storage periods or the categories of personal data used for the ads personalisation, by splitting them across multiple documents, help pages and settings screens.
That lack of clarity meant that users were effectively unable to exercise their right to opt out of data-processing for personalisation of ads.
In a statement, Google said: People expect high standards of transparency and control from us. Were deeply committed to meeting those expectations and the consent requirements of the GDPR. Were studying the decision to determine our next steps.
The fine came about following complaints in May from two European pressure groups, None Of Your Business and La Quadrature du Net. Both groups accused Google, as well as a number of other large internet companies including Facebook, of not having a valid legal basis to process the personal data of users of its services, particularly for ads personalisation purposes.
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