Irish DPA investigates Google’s processing of location data
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) – Irelands data protection authority -, in its role as Lead Supervisory Authority for Google, started a formal investigation into Google’s practices to track the location of users and the transparency surrounding that processing.
The investigation follows a series of complaints by several national consumer groups across the EU. Consumer organisations argue that the consent to “share” users’ location data was not freely given and consumers were tricked into accepting privacy-intrusive settings. Such practices are not compliant with the EU’s data protection law GDPR.
DPC will establish whether Google has a valid legal basis for processing the location data of its users and whether it meets its obligations as a data controller with regard to transparency.
