Ireland fines Google €403 million over location data

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has fined Google €403 million, about 463 million dollars, over how it handled users’ location data in the EU. The ruling covers May 2018 through February 2020 and says Google fell short of GDPR rules requiring lawful, fair and transparent use of location information across Web & App Activity, Location History, and Location Accuracy; it also retained some data longer than necessary. That matters because location trails can reveal routines and interests, and can help shape advertising even when people do not understand that connection. The regulator gave Google six months to bring the affected processing into compliance, while Google said the case concerns older policies it has since changed.