Google, Facebook and other technology companies are under pressure from regulators to ensure that privacy rights are respected as computer users unwittingly reveal more data online through shopping, social networking and web searches.
In 2014, the German watchdog ordered Google to give users more control over how their data is used. Under the terms of Google’s 2012 privacy policy, the US-based company could combine data it retrieves when customers use various services, including Gmail. That policy would have allowed Google to determine people’s financial situation, sexual orientation and relationship status, the Hamburg regulator said at the time.
European privacy regulators from six countries in 2013 coordinated enforcement measures over the company’s failure to address complaints about its privacy policy. The European investigations started after the company sought to harmonize privacy policies for more than 60 products.
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