Read Time:2 Minute, 9 Second
Google has finally agreed to pay $60 million to settle its long-running battle with the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) over the unlawful collection of data.
The Federal Court of Australia ruled in April 2021 that Google had broken consumer laws by deceiving some Australian customers about using their personal information. It impacted users who had switched location data to “off” while continuing to use apps and have web activity recorded.
The ACCC said that the conduct affected around half a million consumers.
“The Court’s decision and Google’s acknowledgement of breaching the Australian Consumer Law is significant,” said ACCC Chair Rod Sims.
“It sends a strong message to Google and other global technology companies that big isn’t beautiful when it comes to obeying the law.”
Under the terms of the settlement, Google will pay a $50 million civil penalty and make a $10 million contribution to “consumer education initiatives”.
“This has been a long-running investigation and litigation, and we are pleased to have resolved with the ACCC,” said Google’s Australian managing director Mel Silva.
“We’re committed to ensuring our products and services comply with local laws.”
The ACCC said it would consider the settlement offer “in detail” before making a final decision.
The ruling follows a series of ACCC investigations into Google’s conduct, including an inquiry into handling personal data announced in December 2020. The regulator is also investigating whether Google’s practices relating to search and advertising breach consumer law.
Google has been hit with several significant fines worldwide for handling user data.
In January 2020, the European Commission fined Google €50 million (US$56 million) for “abusing its market dominance” as a search engine by giving an unfair advantage to another Google product, Google Shopping.
And in July 2018, the US Federal Trade Commission fined Google $5 billion (€4.3 billion) for “illegally maintaining a monopoly” on mobile phone operating systems and web browsers.
Antitrust authorities have also investigated the company in India and Russia.
The $60 million fine is the latest in a string of penalties imposed on Google by regulators worldwide over its handling of user data.
Google has been fined yet again, this time by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, for unlawfully collecting data from Australian consumers. This is just the latest in a long line of fines and investigations faced by the tech giant over its handling of user data. Google has agreed to pay a $60 million fine to settle the matter, but it remains to be seen if this will be enough to deter the company from future misconduct.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0
