French agency may slap Google with a €300,000 fine for privacy violations

Google has once again found itself in the hot seat over its data practices, and this time, a French agency is sounding the alarm. Earlier today, France's National Commission on Computing and Freedom

(CNIL) threatened Google with a €300,000 fine due to the company's lack of compliance with a June decision aimed at protecting users' private data. Previously, Google was given three months to address CNIL's concerns about centralized data collection that lumps together information from Youtube, Gmail and searches and transparency about how such data was put to use. Now, the clock is up, and France isn't fooling around. While formal sanctioning is a lengthy process that won't be resolved for several months, the country's stance is considered aggressive, even if the fine is relatively modest. Google, however, doesn't seem phased. Company spokesperson Al Verney said, "Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services.


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