The Irish Data Protection Commission has imposed a fine of €403 million on Google. The penalty relates to the company's handling of user location data for targeted advertising purposes between May 25, 2018, and February 4, 2020.
Regulators concluded that Google failed to provide adequate information to users regarding how their location data was tracked, stored, and monetized. This investigation followed complaints from several European consumer rights organizations.
The commission determined that the company violated GDPR requirements concerning lawfulness, fairness, transparency, and accountability. The ruling mandates that Google must bring its data practices into full compliance within six months.
This penalty is the fourth-largest GDPR fine issued by the Irish regulator to date. While GDPR allows for fines of up to 4% of a company's global annual revenue, this amount represents a fraction of that potential maximum.
