US-based internet giant Google has been ordered by the Spain’s data protection watchdog to pay a fine of 900,000 euros for serious violations of users’ privacy. The Spanish Data Protection Agency accused Google of ‘illegal processing of personal data’, which were taken from users of different services, like Google email accounts.
The privacy policy of Google allows it to track the activity of users throughout its search engine, including Gmail, the Google + social networking site, as well as other services that it owns, including YouTube. The Spanish agency in a statement said, “Google unlawfully collects and processes personal information of the users”. The statement went on to say that the agency considers that Google seriously violates the right to the protection of personal data.
Google has been ordered to pay 300,000 euros for each of the three breaches of Spain’s data protection law and was also ordered to bring its privacy policy in accordance with legal norms. According to the agency, the search engine did not properly convey to its users how it uses the data collected, for instance information from emails which were gathered in order to generate target advertising.
A spokesperson for Google could not be reached immediately for comment, but sources say that the company is totally involved in the investigations of the agency.
Photo Credits: Live Mint
