Google Fined $1.2 Million by Spain

For violating privacy laws

Earlier this year, the French independent administrative authority CNIL advised six European countries to take action over Google's privacy policies. Now Spain has become the first of the six to fine the search giant, demanding €900,000 ($1.24 million) for breaching the nation's privacy laws. The Wall Street Journal reports that the fine, administered by the Spanish Agency for Data Protection, is for three legal breaches: "gathering data on users, combining the data through several services and keeping the data indefinitely without the knowledge or consent of users."

EU regulators urged Google to change its privacy policy in September 2012. The company ignored the request, clearing the way for a lengthy investigation that resulted in the CNIL advising European data protection authorities to take action. When asked to comment on that advice in April, Google told The Verge that its privacy policy "respects European law and allows [it] to create simpler, more effective services." Five other countries — Italy, Germany, France, the UK, and the Netherlands — may also decide to fine the American company in the coming months.