EU privacy regulators plan 'repressive action' against Google

Google EU privacy case
Trouble brewing for Google at EU

Google can load millions of search results in fractions of a second, but the company is taking much longer to comply with European Union privacy regulators, according to one French watchdog group this week.

"European data protection authorities have noted that Google did not provide any precise and effective answers to their recommendations," said France's Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) in a press release.

The CNIL and other EU regulators had recommended that Google improve its data subjects' information and clarify the combination of data across its many services, such as Search, YouTube, and Gmail.

The coordinating regulators also asked for Google to provide precise retention periods for personal data in processes back in October.

Timed out response?

"After a 4 months deadline that was granted to Google in order to comply with the European data protection regulation and to implement effectively G29's recommendations, no answer has been given," said the CNIL.

The result proposed by this independent French administrative authority is to organize a work group with other EU regulators for "repressive action" against Google.

The CNIL said that this should take place before the summer, with an action plan to be submitted for approval at the next meeting on Feb 26.

Google's official response

The CNIL may be accusing Google of not getting back to it over new privacy concerns, but the Mountain View, California company didn't have a problem responding to TechRadar.

"Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services," a Google spokesperson told TechRadar.

"We have engaged fully with the CNIL throughout this process, and we'll continue to do so going forward."

Google has had experience in dealing with European Union regulators before.

In addition to being probed for this one-stop-shop of privacy rules, the company has also had to meet with EU officials about its ongoing anti-trust case.

Matt Swider