Irish privacy regulator fines Google €403 million over location data processing
Ireland's Data Protection Commission has fined Google €403 million for failing to properly manage user location data. The inquiry found that Google's practices prevented users from maintaining control over their personal information and how it was used for advertising.
Why it matters
This fine underscores the strict enforcement of EU data privacy regulations against major technology firms regarding user consent and data retention.
The lead European Union data privacy regulator for most of the biggest internet companies fined Alphabet’s Google search engine €403 million ($463 million) following an inquiry into its processing of location data, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) said on Monday (September 21, 2026).
The DPC opened the inquiry in 2020 following complaints from several European consumer rights organisations regarding Google’s processing of location data in connection with certain services and products.
“As a result of Google’s failures, individuals could have been unaware that their location was being used to, for example, influence them with ads or to infer their interests, and could lose control over their personal data,” DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said in a statement.
“The retention of users’ location data for longer than necessary aggravated this loss of control.”
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