Consumers' assoc. files privacy complaint against Google for following Android users

Consumers' association Consumentenbond filed a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority against Google. According to the union, Google 'tricks' Android users into giving permission for their smartphones' location to be used, which is against the law, ANP reports.

Research by Consumentenbond showed that 54% of Dutch Android users have the function 'web&app' enabled. This is used to keep track of location history. The majority of these users did not know that this option was activated, the Dutch association said.

This complaint is part of a larger action also involving the consumers' associations in Norway, Sweden and the Czech Republic, as well as the European umbrella organization BEUC, among others.

According to a study by the Norwegian consumers association, Google steers Android users towards turning on their Location History. This gives Google information about where someone is, while no unambiguous consent was given, according to the association.

In a response Google said that "location history is disabled by default", according to the news wire. "In addition, users can edit, delete or pause shared location data at any time."