Google sued for collecting user data without consent.
Three class actions have been launched against Google (in Canada) accusing it of collecting user data without consent, including for online advertising purposes.
The allegations are that:
- Google uses its services to build advertising profiles of internet users without their consent.
- This happens even if the user has no relationship with Google, via websites that use Google Ads and Google Analytics.
- Google misrepresents its privacy and data practices through ‘misleading advertising’ by claiming that users have a choice about how the firm uses their personal data.
Similar action is being taken in the Netherlands against Salesforce and Oracle for using personal data, and another is in preparation regarding TikTok’s use of children’s data. In the UK, yet another class action was recently launched against Marriott, seeks compensation for 30 million people who were affected by hotel chain’s data breach. A similar action launched against Facebook in 2018 is still ongoing.
Insight
Depending on the outcomes of these cases, organisations may have more to fear from being sued than from being fined.
If your not sure about the rules regarding consent, or you need help with managing your organisations’ personal data use, then our DPaaS offerings could be for you.
Further reading: