14 DAY TRIAL // In the next year and a half, Google has to come up with a new set of data use practices in Italy, the country’s regulators have decided.
This brings an end to the investigation into Google’s practices within the country, which is part of a larger effort at a European level seeking to reform the Internet giant’s privacy practices.
According to the decision, the data protection regulator in Italy has decided that Google would not be allowed to use people’s data to profile users without their explicit consent. It should also have to inform users explicitly about the fact that they are being profiled for commercial purposes.
Additionally, if any of the users demand that their personal data is deleted by Google, the company should comply with the request within two months’ time.
Similar bodies across European nations have launched a joint inquiry into Google after the company merged some 60 privacy policies into a single one, allowing the company to collect data on people as per usual and to combine everything it has on an individual across its many apps. This means that data collected on YouTube, Gmail, Google Search, Google+ and anything else under the company’s umbrella makes for a single profile.
More importantly, however, the issue that annoyed regulators most is the fact that users have absolutely no say in this, being unable to opt out of having all their data stored together.
The freshly taken decision is forcing Google to comply with European laws on data usage, something that the company has been avoiding, trying to force its own rules on all countries where it operates, regardless of local legislation.
If Google won’t comply and change its data usage documentation by the end of the 18 months term, the company could risk fines of about €1 million, but that’s a drop in a bucket compared to Google’s income. Italy could also bring criminal charges to the company.
Other European nations have fined Google for violating local laws on data protection, but none of the sanctions weas large enough to actually hurt the company. Even so, Google seemed willing to comply with the local laws, even if it may seem like it’s dragging its feet.
Google has been under fire in Europe in recent months, especially due to its stance on privacy-related issues, while the European Union has been more sensitive to this topic, especially in light of the NSA scandal and the spotlight that’s been put on privacy.