PARIS: European data protection agencies intend to take action against the US Internet giant Google after it failed to follow their orders to comply with EU privacy laws, a French agency said yesterday.
In October the data protection agencies of the 27 EU states warned Google that its new confidentiality policy did not comply with European law and gave it four months to make changes or face legal action.
“At the end of a four-month delay accorded to Google to comply with the European data protection directive and to implement effectively (our) recommendations, no answer has been given,” said France’s CNIL data protection agency.
National authorities which responsible for enforcing data protection laws in the EU said they plan to set up a working group to “coordinate their coercive actions which should be implemented before the summer.” A meeting will be held next week to approve their joint action plan, said CNIL, which said it is leading the effort.
Google rolled out the new privacy policy in March 2012, allowing it to track users across various services to develop targeted advertising, despite sharp criticism from US and European consumer advocacy groups. It contends the move simplifies and unifies its policies across its various services such as Gmail, YouTube, Android mobile systems, social networks and Internet search.
But critics argue that the policy, which offers no ability to opt out aside from refraining from signing into Google services, gives the operator of the world’s largest search engine unprecedented ability to monitor its users. Google reiterated yesterday that its confidentiality policy is in line with European law.
“Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services,” Google said in a statement following CNIL’s announcement. AFP
