• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, July 18, 2024

Antitrust regulators in Italy are investigating Google over its practice of combining data about users that was collected across different company-owned services -- such as YouTube and Maps.

Specifically, the Italian Competition Authority is examining whether Google obtains valid consent from users before mingling personal data gleaned from different platforms.

“The request for consent that Google submits to its users to the linking of the services offered may constitute a misleading and aggressive commercial practice,” the Italian Competition Authority stated Thursday when it announced the investigation.

The agency added that Google appears to give users “inadequate, incomplete and misleading information” that could influence their decision about whether to allow Google to combine personal data collected from a variety of services including Maps and YouTube.

Google's request for consent may fail to adequately inform people of the “real effect” of agreeing to Google's aggregation of data, the authorities added.

A company spokesperson says Google "will analyze the details of this case and will work cooperatively" with the agency.

The investigation comes as Google, along with Meta, X Corp. and other U.S. companies, faces increased scrutiny in Europe -- which has broad privacy laws, including the Digital Markets Act.

That measure, which took effect this year, requires large platforms like Google to obtain users' consent before harnessing users' data.

Earlier this month, antitrust regulations in the European Commission made a preliminary finding that Meta Platforms violates the Digital Markets Act by requiring Facebook and Instagram users to choose between accepting online ad targeting or paying subscription fees for ad-free versions of the services.

That model “does not allow users to exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data,” the commission wrote.

“Users who do not consent should still get access to an equivalent service which uses less of their personal data, in this case for the personalization of advertising,” the agency added.