Following a 3 month deadline in which Google failed to bring its practises in line with EU law, France has fined Google €150,000; the government’s highest authorised fine. French watchdog, CNIL, said “The company does not sufficiently inform its users of the conditions in which their personal data are processed, nor of the purposes of this processing” due to its procedures in tracking and storing cookies and giving customers no way to opt out. In March 2012, Google consolidated 60 privacy policies together to enable it to collect customer data from all Google services such as YouTube and Google mail. The changes make it easier for the collection and process of data that can be sold to advertisers; thus increasing Google’s revenue potential. This has sparked controversy across Europe and Google is now facing fines from Britain, Spain, Germany and The Netherlands for non-conformance to EU law.
Currently, caps remain on potential fines for many European countries, which barely indent on Google’s billion dollar turnover. Nevertheless these fines are indicative of the mounting pressure facing US internet giants on how they use and process European data. At present, The European Commission is reforming European Data law to introduce more severe penalties for companies who fail to adhere. As of yet a decision on how exactly the law should be reformed has not been reached but ideas such as ‘Right to be Forgotten’ and imposing penalties up to 2% of global turnover are being discussed.
The issue of data protection worldwide is a contentious one. Amongst the Snowden revelations and news of data breaches almost daily, it will be interesting to see the finalised EU Data Protection reform and how they plan to protect European data.
Security and data protection are at the forefront of Redstor’s offerings and we promise full compliance with the Data Protection Act. Redstor’s range of secure, encrypted services for the public and private sectors ensure that the burden of maintaining compliance with the Data Protection Act is made easier and can be achieved more cost-effectively. Our automated online Backup service ensures data is safely backed up offsite in an encrypted format. Our cloud file sync and share service, Centrastor, enables organisations to store and share files securely online from any device with an Internet connection and our CentraStage service enables support providers to guarantee that devices they support are regularly audited, patched and safely up-to-date for effective unified device management. Our Virtual Disaster Recovery service guarantees to have your systems up and running within minutes following a disaster. To find out more about our services and how we can help you comply with data protection laws and prevent data leakage, please contact us either by giving us a ring on 01189 515 200 or emailing [email protected].
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