Italian antitrust authority attacks Google for using personal data

ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s antitrust agency said on Thursday it had opened an investigation into internet search giant Google and its parent company Alphabet over alleged unfair trading practices involving users’ personal data.

The watchdog said the consent request that Google sends to its users to connect its multiple services “may constitute a misleading and aggressive commercial practice.”

The antitrust authority, which oversees consumer rights, added that this “incomplete and misleading” information provided to users does not explain what impact their consent may have on the use of their personal data.

Google offers a wide range of online tools, including the YouTube video platform, Gmail email service, and Maps.

The antitrust authority found that Google had presented its consent request to users in a way that could limit their freedom of choice by prompting them to consent to the combined use of personal data by different Google services.

A Google spokesperson had no comment to make at this time.

Under Italian law, companies that violate consumer rights laws can be fined between €5,000 and €10 million.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti and Elvira Pollina, editing by Gavin Jones)

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