Netherlands could slap Google with €15 million fine in privacy case

The Dutch Data Protection Authority has found Google in breach of several provisions of the Dutch data protection act with its new privacy policy, according to a press release by the CBP. Google could face a €15 million fine because of the alleged violations. Google uses personal information and cookies from videos watched, search history and read emails to generate personalized ads without consent from the user, the DPA said. This applies to users who are logged into Google, and even those who are using the search engine, or accessing another website that uses Google to read cookies. The company has allegedly been in breach of the privacy policy since 2012. "Google catches us in an invisible web of our personal data without telling us and without asking us for our consent" says Jacob Kohnstamm. "This has been ongoing since 2012 and we hope our patience will no longer be tested," continued the chairman of the Dutch DPA. The Dutch DPA has compelled Google to obtain the user's permission for use of cookies by means of a separate pop-up screen. They are also to provide clear and consistent information to users on which personal data is used by the different services of Google, and lastly, to be transparent of the fact that YouTube is also owned by the firm. Google must have measures in place that complies with the Dutch privacy policies by February 2015, the watchdog said. National consumer agencies in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain have all attacked the tech giant for their data use According to the press statement, Google has already submitted a letter announcing an array of measures taken to promote compliance with the European Data Act.