Google Slapped With $57 Million GDPR Fine

AlphaAtlas

AlphaAtlas

[H]ard|Gawd
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According to a press release from CNIL, France's data protection authority, Google was just hit with a 50 Million Euro (or $57 Million USD) fine for "lack of transparency, inadequate information and lack of valid consent regarding the ads personalization." The organization says that Google's advertising information is "not easily accessible for users," and that it is often unclear or insufficient. The committee also believes that Google doesn't validly obtain the user's consent for using their data. VentureBeat, who spotted the announcement, notes that Google is scheduled to move some operations to Ireland today in order to comply with GDPR law, and that this $57 million fine is relatively meager compared to the $5 billion fine they were slapped with in July.

Google hasn’t confirmed what its next steps will be, but it will likely appeal the decision as it has done with other fines. "People expect high standards of transparency and control from us," a Google spokesperson told VentureBeat. "We're deeply committed to meeting those expectations and the consent requirements of the GDPR. We’re studying the decision to determine our next steps."
 
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Well if the EU is going to insist on protecting citizens and punishing corporate crimes then I say everyone should refuse to do business there!

Embrace the oligarchy or suffer!
 
AlphaAtlas said:
Google is scheduled to move some operations to Ireland today in order to comply with GDPR law
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interesting, ireleand is part of the EU, so i wonder why moving some things there, which i am guessing are already in other parts of the EU help.

Though, isnt ireland part of that whole tax evasion scheme. maybe thats the real reason, and the GDPR is just a smoke screen for it
 
When you read criticisms that say "too many boxes to check" and then turns around and says "not enough granular controls" you start to realize that they can and will interpret their rules to fine companies no matter what they do. They want more, and less, control at the same time. They want it less confusing but they want a ton of options. You can't win with those kinds of demands so in the end it becomes just a revenue generation scheme.
 
Laowai said:
Really? You mean that fines generate revenue for gov't?
Next thing ya' know, taxation will be used to generate revenue for government too!
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Considering all the tax evasion google and other companies have been doing this is still probably a drop in the bucket. Still nice to see. Meanwhile in the US FB pays no price for total negligence.
 
katanaD said:
interesting, ireleand is part of the EU, so i wonder why moving some things there, which i am guessing are already in other parts of the EU help.

Though, isnt ireland part of that whole tax evasion scheme. maybe thats the real reason, and the GDPR is just a smoke screen for it
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Speaking for my title (<--- look that way), the double irish tax thing is going the way of the dodo...or kinda has already
The GDPR thing is great overall I think
A fucking total pain to manage though...you have to be sooooo careful
 
c3k said:
If they'd toss an extra zero on the backend of that figure, it'd look better.
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Add 2 and then we'd be talking. A $5 billion fine might actually sting Google compared to this paltry $50 million that they'll probably brush off.
 
2017 free cash flow was about 24 billion. Assuming 2019 works out similarly, they will cover the $57 million in about 20 hours.
 
Currently attending a Privacy and Compliance seminar at Microsoft as I read this...lol. It was mentioned this morning.
 
Cracks me up that so many people here seem to think that GDPR is a bad thing. It's consumer protection, dummies. It's not just a revenue scheme for the EU. Frankly, expecting any of these private corporations (Google, FB, Amazon, etc) to enact data privacy standards when it's explicitly against their interests (as they make money off of it via advertising) is foolish.

GDPR requires a lot of work to implement, but it's not impossible. The company I work for (SAP) had full GDPR compliance when the legislation kicked in last year. But, they're a German company.
 
When I read this a few days ago I remembered the [H] article last week about the complaints filed. I couldn't help but think "that was an incredibly quick turnaround."

Guess this complaint was filed on the first day of the law.

I know a lot of people may think this is the EU overreaching (I've seen it in other threads) or trying to "tax" American tech companies, but this is a result of these companies pushing the boundaries of what's acceptable. The US government has failed to reel them in sufficiently (lobbyists for the win), so other nations with sufficient market power are going to do it. The difference is that the US government would probably be more lenient (slap on the wrist) on fines because of local jobs, lobbyists, the economy, etc., versus somewhere like the EU that can levy a massive fine and not give a shit. What's Google going to do, layoff the one mailroom intern that works the Ireland office?
 
Armenius said:
Add 2 and then we'd be talking. A $5 billion fine might actually sting Google compared to this paltry $50 million that they'll probably brush off.
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No kidding. If the goal is to make Google take GDPR seriously, this amount is doing you a disservice.
 
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