• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, August 1, 2023

Google has made it easier to back up and transfer personal data between third-party services based on requirements in Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation.

The mandate came down from Italy’s AGCM competition authority after it investigated alleged abuse of Google’s dominant position in advertising and data.

The investigation was closed after Google agreed to make it easier for consumers to transfer data.  

“The Alphabet/Google group holds a dominant position in several markets and is consequently able to acquire large amounts of data through the services it provides (Gmail, Google Maps, Android),” according to the AGCM. “In 2022, it achieved a turnover of USD 282.8 billion.”

The alleged abuse by Google, investigated by the AGCM, was based on interoperability obstacles in data sharing with other platforms, such as Weople APP, developed by Hoda, an Italian data export startup, to offer users alternative ways of exploiting data.

In Europe, data portability is governed by Article 20 of the GDPR. It requires the circulation of data and to provide alternative firms with the possibility of exerting competitive pressure on companies, such as Google, that manage ecosystems based on the availability of almost unlimited amounts of data.

The right to port data and interoperability can enable users to gain the maximum economic potential from the use of their personal data.

Google presented three commitments to which the AGCM agreed. The first two involve enhancing Google Takeout, a free tool that allows users to export and download information from their account. The third introduces a new product to “allow direct data portability from service to service” for authorized third-party operators such as those “generated through user activity on Google’s online search engine and YouTube platform.”

It's not clear if this will change or effect anything in the United States.