Alphabet’s Google is once again under an investigation by European Comission’s antitrust regulators over their data collection practices. According to Reuters, the EU isn’t satisfied with Google over their practices even after the recent fine imposed on the company. The company was fined 1.7 billion dollars in March by EU over their “unfair” business practices towards their competitors. In the last three years, Google has been fined a total of $9 billion by the EU (8.2 billion Euros).
According to a Reuters report, EU wants information on how and why the company is collecting user data for services like search, online advertising and even web browser usage. This is also not a first time for such a Google investigation either. One of the EU regulators has told Reuters:
The Commission has sent out questionnaires as part of a preliminary investigation into Google’s practices relating to Google’s collection and use of data. The preliminary investigation is ongoing,
A Google spokesperson has spoken out saying:
We use data to make our services more useful and to show relevant advertising, and we give people the controls to manage, delete or transfer their data,
This is not the only instance of a tech company coming under such investigation recently. These investigations started after the government officials and regulators in the US started an antitrust investigations into big tech giants to make sure that they were not involved in any “anti-competitive conduct” and to make sure that users were not being exploited.
Some of the companies that have come under such scrutiny include Google, Amazon, Facebook and even Apple who have always claimed privacy above everything else.
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