Australia’s watchdog sues Google over data privacy issues

On Monday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed a case against Google (GOOGL) in federal court after allegations that the multinational technology company misled its consumers about the expanded use of their personal data for a targeted advertising program.

ACCC said that Google did not seek consumers’ explicit consent. The company failed to inform its consumers when it started combining personal information with data about their activities on non-Google sites “that used Google technology, formerly DoubleClick technology, to display ads” in 2016.

“We are taking this action because we consider Google misled Australian consumers about what it planned to do with large amounts of their personal information, including internet activity on websites not connected to Google,” ACCC’s Chairman Rod Sims said.

He added, “Google significantly increased the scope of information it collected about consumers which were used to serve up highly targeted advertisements without consumers’ express informed consent.”