Google agrees to pay $60m penalty

News in brief

Google has agreed to pay $60m in penalties after a court case with the Australian competition watchdog (ACCC) over the collection of personal location data.

The Federal Court ordered Google to pay the amount for making “misleading representations” about the collection and use of personal location data on Android phones between January 2017 and December 2018.

It found Google had breached Australian Consumer Law by representing to some Android users the setting under “Location History” was the only Google account setting that affected the collection, storage and use personally identifiable data about their location. However, another setting, “Web & App Activity”, also enabled Google to collect, store and use this data, and the setting was turned on by default.

ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said: “This significant penalty imposed by the Court today sends a strong message to digital platforms and other businesses, large and small, that they must not mislead consumers about how their data is being collected and used.”