Ireland's DPC fines Google €403 million for mishandling location data

Technology Sep 21, 2026

Google just got slapped with a €403 million ($463 million) fine by Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) for mishandling users' location data.

After digging into complaints from consumer groups, the DPC found that Google wasn't clear about how it used people's location information for ads, and even kept that data longer than needed, making it harder for users to control their own privacy.

DPC is Europe's US tech watchdog

The DPC is the main watchdog for big US tech companies in Europe due to the location of their EU operations in Ireland.

This is now one of the biggest fines they've handed out, showing regulators are getting serious about protecting user privacy.

Google hasn't responded to the penalty yet.