Google Criticised for Data Handling Practices by German Antitrust Watchdog

Google was classified as a company of "paramount significance across markets" in 2021.

By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 11 January 2023 18:03 IST

Google Criticised for Data Handling Practices by German Antitrust Watchdog

Photo Credit: Bloomberg

Data collected by Google was reportedly used to create very detailed user profiles

Highlights

Google had a strategic advantage over other companies from gathered data
The watchdog has also opened probes into US tech like Amazon, Facebook
Big tech companies have been facing increasing scrutiny around the globe

Germany's antitrust regulator on Wednesday criticised the way Google handles users' data and threatened action against the US tech giant.

Data collected by Google was used to "create very detailed user profiles which the company can exploit for advertising and other purposes", the Federal Cartel Authority said.

Based on a preliminary assessment, the watchdog determined that users were not given sufficient clarity on the "far-reaching processing of their data across services" by the tech company.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

"General and indiscriminate data retention... is not permissible" without giving users choice, the watchdog said.

The Federal Cartel Authority was therefore "currently planning to oblige the company to change the choices offered", it said, adding that it expected to issue its final decision this year.

"Google's business model relies heavily on the processing of user data," said the authority's chief Andreas Mundt.

Why US Public Schools Are Suing Big Tech Over Social Media Harm

The digital giant had "access to relevant data gathered from a large number of different services" which meant it enjoyed "a strategic advantage over other companies", Mundt said in a statement.

The warning comes after Google was classified as a company of "paramount significance across markets" in 2021.

The designation gives Germany's regulators the option to intervene earlier against potentially uncompetitive practices by huge digital companies.

Wielding the new legislation, the watchdog has also opened probes into US tech giants such as Amazon and Facebook.

At the end of last year, the regulator shelved a separate investigation into Google's News Showcase service, after the firm made "important adjustments" to ease competition concerns.

Big tech companies have been facing increasing scrutiny around the globe over their dominant positions as well as their tax practices.

In July 2022, the European Parliament adopted the Digital Markets Act to curb the market dominance of Big Tech, with violators facing fines of up to 10 percent of their annual global sales.

How does the Redmi 12 Pro+ fare against its competitor, the Realme 10 Pro+ 5G? Is it a worthy successor to the Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G? We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.