GoKawiil
Tech News
Regulators concluded that Google mishandled location tracking, gathering and storing data that could expose sensitive personal details about users without adequate safeguards. As a result, the company has been fined $462 million.
Ireland's Data Protection Commission fined Google €403 million ($463 million) after a multi-year investigation into how it handled location data through Web & App Activity, Location History, and Location Accuracy features between 2018 and 2020. Regulators found Google failed to meet GDPR transparency and lawfulness requirements and violated data retention rules for two of the three features. Google must bring its location data practices into compliance within six months and says it has already updated its policies since 2019.
Google Maps estimates how crowded entire areas, not just individual businesses, are by aggregating anonymous location data from users who have opted into Google Timeline. The feature combines data from nearby stores, restaurants, and parks, but excludes private residences, and typically only works in high-traffic zones like tourist areas or festival grounds where enough visitor data exists.
US military branches confirmed to Senator Ron Wyden and Reuters that they have turned off advertising identifiers on service members' phones and computers. The Air Force disabled them two months ago, Special Operations Command did so recently, and the Army says mobile ad IDs have been off since earlier this year, with Windows devices blocked since before 2021.
The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Special Operations Command have all turned off advertising tracking on government-issued phones and computers, according to a letter Senator Ron Wyden shared. The change, rolled out earlier this year with the Air Force following in July, blocks the advertising identifiers apps use to generate location data that gets sold to data brokers.