# Google fined €403m over location data tracking

> Ireland's regulator says Google manipulated users into constant mobile tracking and used location data to target ads without clear consent.
- Title: Google fined €403m over location data tracking · the Guardian
- Summary: Ireland's regulator says Google manipulated users into constant mobile tracking and used location data to target ads without clear consent. Google was fined…
- Keywords: google, data protection commission, ireland, location data, privacy, gdpr, fine, mobile tracking, news, world, fined, 403m
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/21/google-is-fined-more-than-400m-by-irish-regulator-over-its-use-of-location-data
- Published: 2026-09-21T10:57:26+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: google, data protection commission, ireland, location data, privacy, gdpr, fine, mobile tracking, news, world
## Google fined for location tracking
Ireland's Data Protection Commission fined Google more than four hundred million euros over how it processed users' location data on mobile phones.
## What location data reveals
Research by Norway's consumer agency in two thousand eighteen showed location tracking can expose religious beliefs, political views, health conditions and sexual orientation.
## Users unaware of tracking use
The DPC found Google users could have been unaware their location was used to target adverts, infer interests, or gather health details without clear consent.

> Location data can reveal a significant amount of information about an individual, including information that is inherently private.
## Seven organisations filed complaints
Multiple European consumer organisations complained that Google was following every step users took and using location data in ways that breached privacy.
## Google says practices have changed
Google responded that the fine concerns historical policies updated since two thousand nineteen, when it launched tools making location data management simpler.

> From 2019 onwards, we've significantly evolved our practices and launched robust tools that make managing location data simple.
## Enforcement took six years
The DPC launched its inquiry six years ago. The European Consumer Organisation said the time taken was disproportionate to the seriousness of the infringement.

> Late enforcement can be as harmful as no enforcement at all.
## Google must comply within six months
The DPC imposed a fine of four hundred three million euros and ordered Google to bring its processing into compliance with GDPR within six months.
## Key takeaway

Google was fined four hundred three million euros by Ireland's Data Protection Commission for processing users' location data without clear awareness or consent.