On Thursday, Italy’s competition watchdog announced that it had opened an investigation into Google and its parent company Alphabet for suspected “unfair commercial practices” related to user data consent requests sent to consumers.
“The request for consent that Google submits to its users for the linking of the services offered may constitute a misleading and aggressive commercial practice,” the AGCM competition authority stated.
Indeed, it appears to be accompanied by inadequate, incomplete, and misleading information, which may influence the decision of whether and to what extent consent should be granted,” it stated.
The US tech behemoth seeks permission from users to aggregate and use their personal data across its various services, which include Google’s search engine, Maps, and YouTube, among others.
However, the consent request provides little or no clear information “as to the actual effect that consent has on Google’s use of users’ personal data,” according to the watchdog.
It additionally charged Google with employing “techniques and methods for requesting consent, and also for setting up the mechanisms for obtaining consent itself, which could condition the freedom of choice of the average consumer” . A Google spokesperson said the company would investigate the case and “cooperate with the authority.
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