The Irish Data Protection Commissioner is to open a statutory inquiry into Google amid concerns the tech giant may not be in compliance with GDPR over personalised advertising.
It is the 17th statutory inquiry into multinational tech firms by Helen Dixon’s office since the advent of GDPR one year ago.
Under GDPR, Google can be fined up to €20m or a maximum of 4pc of annual revenue, amounting to billions of euro.
The probe was initiated after complaints by Irishman Johnny Ryan, who works for the British web browser Brave.
“A statutory inquiry pursuant to Section 110 of the Data Protection Act 2018 has been commenced in respect of Google Ireland Limited’s processing of personal data in the context of its online Ad Exchange,” said a DPC spokesman.
Dr Ryan said: “The Irish Data Protection Commission’s action signals that now, nearly one year after the GDPR was introduced, a change is coming that goes beyond just Google. We need to reform online advertising to protect privacy and to protect advertisers and publishers from legal risk.”
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