Europe to move against Google over privacy rules
Data protection agencies warned Google in September that its new confidentiality policy did not comply with EU laws
European data protection agencies intend to take action against the US internet giant Google after it failed to follow their orders to comply with EU privacy laws, a French agency said Monday.
In October, the data protection agencies warned Google that its new confidentiality policy did not comply with EU laws and gave it four months to make changes or face legal action.
"At the end of a four-month delay accorded to Google to comply with the European data protection directive and to implement effectively [our] recommendations, no answer has been given," said France's CNIL data protection agency.
At the end of a four-month delay accorded to Google to comply with the European data protection directive and to implement effectively [our] recommendations, no answer has been given
It said that European data protection agencies planned to set up a working group to "co-ordinate their coercive actions which should be implemented before the summer".
European data agencies were to meet next week to approve the action plan, CNIL said.
Google rolled out the new privacy policy last March, allowing it to track users across various services to develop targeted advertising, despite sharp criticism from US and European consumer advocacy groups.
It contends the move simplifies and unifies its policies across its various services such as Gmail, YouTube, Android mobile systems, social networks and internet searches.