French data regulator National Committee on Information and Liberty (CNIL) has imposed a €150,000 fine on Google not complying with French three month ultimatum to bring its practice of tracking and storing user information in line with the national law.
French authorities have issued an ultimatum to Google after it decided to merge into one single policy the different privacy policies applicable to about sixty of its services, including Google Search, YouTube, Gmail, Picasa, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Maps, which the CNIL said violates French Data Protection Act.
Along with fine, the search engine has also been ordered to publish its decision on French home page ‘google.fr’ for 48 hours within a week of being informed of the ruling.
Google’s spokesman in France told Reuters: "Throughout our talks with CNIL, we have explained our privacy policy and how it allows us to create simpler and more efficient services."
In addition to France, the search major’s latest move is also opposed by other European nations including Spain, UK, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
CNIL said in a statement: "The company does not sufficiently inform its users of the conditions in which their personal data are processed, nor of the purposes of this processing."
CNIL alleged Google of reportedly violating six counts of France’s privacy policies, with the notable concern being the search major not offering the required information to users on how their private information was being used and stored.
