Google Faces Australian Court Ruling Over Location Data Practices

A recent federal court decision in Australia has found Google misled consumers regarding its location data collection practices. This ruling stems from a case initiated by the country’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), marking what the regulator terms a “world-first enforcement action”.

Details of the Case

The legal challenge centers on personal location data gathered via Android mobile devices between January 2017 and December 2018. The ACCC argued, and the court agreed, that Google employed a confusing system of dual location settings.

Specifically, the court determined that Google misrepresented the ‘Location History’ setting as the sole control over the collection of personally identifiable location data during the initial setup of new Google Accounts.

However, the ‘Web & App Activity’ setting, which was enabled by default, also permitted Google to collect, store, and utilize this same location data. Consumers were not adequately informed of this additional data collection mechanism.

Misleading Practices Continued

The court further ruled that Google misled users when they attempted to disable location tracking via the ‘Location History’ setting.

Users were not informed that leaving the ‘Web & App Activity’ setting enabled would allow Google to continue collecting their location data. Similarly, accessing the ‘Web & App Activity’ setting did not clarify its relevance to personal location data collection between March 9, 2017, and November 29, 2018.

Broader Concerns and European Investigations

Concerns regarding Google’s potentially deceptive location data processing have been voiced by consumer agencies in Europe for several years. Allegations include the use of manipulative tactics to maintain tracking of users’ locations for targeted advertising.

An investigation was launched by Google’s lead data regulator in Europe in February 2020, but it remains ongoing.

ACCC’s Next Steps

The ACCC has indicated it will seek declarations, financial penalties, publication orders, and compliance orders following the court’s decision. The specifics of these actions will be determined at a later date.

Google is also considering an appeal of the ruling.

Google’s Response

Google has stated it is reviewing its legal options, including a “possible appeal”. The court did not fully uphold the ACCC’s claims, dismissing certain allegations related to Google’s explanations of how users could prevent data collection and the purposes for which the data was used.

Despite denying wrongdoing, Google acknowledges its commitment to improving user controls regarding location settings.

Previous Penalties and Regulatory Action

This is not the first time Google’s data practices have drawn regulatory scrutiny. In 2019, France’s data watchdog, the CNIL, imposed a $57 million fine on Google for transparency and consent failures under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

This was the largest GDPR penalty issued to a tech company at the time, though France has since levied a $120 million sanction on Google for deploying tracking cookies without proper consent.

Australia’s Legislative Efforts

Australia has also been proactive in addressing the market power of large tech companies. In February of this year, the country passed a mandatory news media bargaining code.

This legislation aims to rebalance the power dynamic between platform giants like Google and Facebook and news publishers concerning the use of journalistic content.