Cyber Safety: EU Antitrust Regulators seek Details of Google’s Data Practices

European Union (EU) antitrust regulators are seeking details of Google’s data collection practices, according to a document seen by Reuters, a move that could signal yet more regulatory woes for the world’s most popular internet search engine.

The European Union (EU)’s executive Commission has handed down fines of more than 8 billion euros (£6.9 billion) to Alphabet unit Google in the last 2 years & ordered it to change its business practices, following an investigation that showed the company abused its dominance.

Last week, the European Union (EU) competition enforcer sent out questionnaires to several companies, asking them about Google’s data practices & giving them a month to reply. The focus is on data related to local search services, online advertising, online ad targeting services, login services, web browsers & others.

Companies were asked about agreements providing data to Google or allowing it to collect data via their services in recent years, & whether they were compensated for this.

Regulators also wanted to know the kind of data sought by Google, how it uses it & how valuable the companies consider such data. Another question asked whether Google & the companies were subjected to contractual terms that prohibit or limit the use of the data.

Regulators also wanted to know if Google had refused to provide data & how this affected the companies. The Commission declined to comment on the questionnaire & it was unclear which companies were canvassed.

In an email to Reuters, Google said: “We use data to make our services more useful & to show relevant advertising, & we give people the controls to manage, delete or transfer their data. We will continue to engage with the Commission & others on this important discussion for our industry.”

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