Italy investigate Google over alleged unfair user data practices

Italy’s competition watchdog announced Thursday that it had initiated an inquiry into Google and its parent company Alphabet regarding potential “unfair commercial practices” associated with requests for user data consent sent to consumers.

“The request for consent that Google submits to its users to the linking of the services offered may constitute a misleading and aggressive commercial practice,” the AGCM competition authority said in a statement.

“Indeed, it appears to be accompanied by inadequate, incomplete and misleading information and it could influence the choice of whether and to what extent consent should be given,” it said.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US tech giant seeks consent from users to aggregate and utilize their personal data across various services, including Google’s search engine, Maps, and YouTube.

However, according to the watchdog, these consent requests often lack clear information about how consenting affects Google’s use of personal data.

The watchdog also accused Google of employing techniques and methods in obtaining consent that could potentially limit the average consumer’s freedom of choice.

In 2021, the watchdog fined both Google and Apple 10 million euros ($10.9 million) each for insufficiently informing users and using aggressive methods in commercial data usage. It criticized both companies for failing to provide clear and immediate information on how user data is collected and utilized.

Furthermore, in May 2021, the authority fined Google over 100 million euros ($109 million) for abusing its dominant market position by excluding a rival’s smartphone app for electric vehicle users.