Google threatened with a €15m fine from Dutch regulators over its privacy policy
Dutch regulators have threatened to whack Google with a €15m fine, after it failed to overhaul the company's privacy policy despite a Dutch regulator finding to to be illegal last year.
Google's use of people's personal data such as browsing history or targeted ads is in breach of the Netherlands' privacy laws according to the Dutch Data Protection Agency (DPA).
It has given Google until the end of February next year to change its privacy policy, or else it'll have to cough up a fine of up to €15m (£11.9m).
It wants the global tech giant to ask for users "unambiguous" consent before combining personal data from different services.
The agency also wants Google to be more transparent about which personal data is used by its services and the fact YouTube is part of Google.
Jacob Kohnstamm, chairman of the Dutch Data Protection Agency (DPA) said:
Google catches us in an invisible web of our personal data without telling us and without asking for our consent.
This has been ongoing since 2012 and we hope our patience will no longer be tested.
Google's privacy policies, which were introduced two years ago, have come under fire across Europe. Multiple countries, including France and Spain, have investigated whether it violates their privacy laws.