At least eight European consumer groups have blamed Google for tricking users into allowing the company to track their location. Furthermore, these unions are filing complaints against the tech giant under the EU's new privacy laws, which by the way are pretty strict.
Complaints were impacted after the Consumer Council of Norway issued a report on Google's location tracking system, which is mandatory for users of Android smartphones.
Although the issue is already in progress for some time, became intense this year after Europe approved the decree of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May, which allows fines of up to 4% of total annual revenue.
The “Norwegian watchdogs” also reported that Google induces users to share their location with the company. Some common tactics used by Google include “default configuration conceals”Providing inaccurate information to consumers on how the data collected are used and repeated notifications to enable the feature “local”. In addition, users are forced to enable location tracking if they want to use Google Assistant.
Under the new policy GDPR, the consumer receives some control of their personal data. However, the unethical practices of Google violate the regulatory committee and, if they have the level of consent of GDPR, google can face major consequences.
When contacted, a Google spokesman denied the allegations and clarified that “Location History” It is disabled on all Android phones by default, and users can edit, pause and delete at any time.
However, the spokesman also made it clear that the user's location-related data are beneficial for the company, and the information is used to improve the user experience at Google.
The union which is part of the complaint on Google includes VZBV group Holland, RepúblicaCheca, Poland, Denmark, Greece, Slovenia, Sweden and Germany.