According to The Wall Street Journal, Google may soon be fined the equivalent of $19 million dollars by the Netherlands Data Protection Authority for violating privacy laws. The Dutch privacy regulator announced earlier today that Google collects and combines
personal data for advertising purposes without obtaining user consent. The threat of a fine follows a 900,000 euro-penalty from Spain’sdata privacy regulator last year and another 150,000 euro penalty Google received earlier this year.
In 2012, Google consolidated most of its privacy policies into one comprehensive policy that enables it to combine almost all information it gains about its users. This troubling change demonstrated that Google doesn't care about its users privacy. Google's platforms are not built with privacy by design in place. It is an advertising company disguised as a search engine and communications provider. This business model has created the most successful advertising entity in the history of the world.
During the past several years, Google has been fined tens of millions of dollars by the FTC, state attorney generals, and European regulators for violating privacy laws. Regulator fines are designed to stop and deter illegal behavior. Google makes so much money from the data it mines on its users that it may be cheaper for it to continue to pay fines for bad behavior instead of changing its business practices. Until regulators around the world are provided the tools that have the teeth required to deter Google and other companies from harming our privacy this troubling behavior will continue.
Will 2015 be the year that legislators and regulators really clamp down on digital data collection and usage? Time will only tell.
Copyright 2014 by Shear Law, LLC. All rights reserved.
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