At least eight groups of European consumer organisations have accused Google of misleading users and allowing the company to track their location. Furthermore, these unions are filing complaints against the tech giant under the EU’s new privacy laws, which are, by the way, quite strict.
The complaints gained momentum after the Norwegian Consumer Council issued a report on Google’s location tracking system, which is mandatory for Android smartphone users.
Although the issue has been ongoing for some time, it intensified this year after Europe passed the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) decree in May, which allows fines of up to 4% of global annual revenue.
The “Norwegian watchdogs” also reported that Google induces users to share their location with the company. Some common tactics used by Google include “hidden default settings”, providing inaccurate information to consumers about how the collected data is used, and repeated notifications to activate the “location” feature. Additionally, users are forced to enable location tracking if they want to use Google Assistant.
Under the new GDPR policy, the consumer gains some control over their personal data. However, Google’s unethical practices violate the regulatory committee, and if they do not meet the GDPR’s consent requirements, Google could face major consequences.
When contacted, a Google spokesperson denied the allegations and clarified that “location history” is turned off by default on all Android phones, and users can edit, pause, and delete it at any time.
However, the spokesperson also made it clear that user location data is beneficial to the company, and the information is used to improve the user experience on Google.
The union involved in the complaint against Google includes the VZBV group from the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, Greece, Slovenia, Sweden, and Germany.