Google faces threat of £500k fine as privacy policies slammed by ICO

Google has been told that it must update its privacy policies to comply with UK laws or face the risk of a fine of up to £500,000.

Google pushed ahead with a number of major policy changes last year, causing uproar at the time, and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) vowed to investigate.

Now, in an update on its work, the data watchdog said it believes Google’s policies are not in line with UK law and should be updated. 

“We have today written to Google to confirm our findings relating to the update of the company’s privacy policy,” an ICO spokesperson said in a statement.

“In our letter we confirm that its updated privacy policy raises serious questions about its compliance with the UK Data Protection Act.”

The spokesperson said that the main issues the ICO has related to the clarity of the policies in place.

“In particular, we believe that the updated policy does not provide sufficient information to enable UK users of Google’s services to understand how their data will be used across all of the company’s products,” they said.

As a result, it must update the policies or face a potential fine from the watchdog.

“Google must now amend their privacy policy to make it more informative for individual service users,” the ICO said.
“Failure to take the necessary action to improve the policies compliance with the Data Protection Act by 20 September will leave the company open to the possibility of formal enforcement action.”
In response, Google issued a vague statement claiming it does adhere to UK laws, but it made no direct comment on the ICO's letter or its contents.
“Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services. We have engaged fully with the authorities involved throughout this process, and we’ll continue to do so going forward."
While the ICO's stance is likely to be welcome by privacy campaigners and shows the regulator baring its teeth, the threat of a fine of £500,000 is unlikely to have executives at the firm worried, although the reputational damage from such an outcome could be more of an issue.
The move is the second time in recent weeks that the ICO has taken action against Google. It has already told the organisation it must delete Street View WiFi data by the 25 of July.