Australian regulator accuses Google of data privacy deceit

The Australian competition regular has accused Google of failing to get adequate permission from consumers to use personal data for targeted advertising, an affair the regulator plans to fine the search company millions of dollars over.

Announced on Monday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched Federal Court proceedings against Google, under the belief Google misled consumers to obtain consent to "expand the scope of personal information that Google could collect and combine about consumers' internet activity."The ACCC statement insists Google failed to properly inform consumers and failed to gain explicit informed consent about a change in 2016 that led to it combining personal information from Google accounts with data on a person's activities from other sources. This external data was gathered on pages that used Google's DoubleClick advertising tools.

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