Data protection regulators in the Netherlands announced on Monday that they had imposed a “minor fine” against Google for violating Dutch data protection law, which could reach 15 million euros ($18.7 million).
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) specifically notes that in 2012 Google's terms, which allow the company to consolidate user data across multiple services (Gmail, YouTube and others), are contrary to Dutch law.
Just over a year ago, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) identified the legal violation of Gοοgle, but did not explain the long delay in imposing the financial sanctions.
“Google is catching us in an invisible web containing personal data without informing us and without asking for our consent,” Jacob Kohnstamm, president of the Dutch DPA, said in a statement. “This has been going on since 2012 and we hope that our patience will not be tested further.”
A Google spokesperson provided a statement.
“We are disappointed with the Dutch Data Protection Authority’s order, as we have already made a number of changes to our privacy policy in response to their concerns,” Google spokesperson Aaron Stein told Ars. “However, we have recently shared with the European Data Protection Regulators group some suggestions for further changes and look forward to discussing them with them soon.”
