French data protection agency Cnil has given Google three months to align its policies with French private by data protection legislation or face fines of EUR 150,000 to 300,000 a day. The formal notice stems from a process started jointly the data protection authorities of the 27 EU member states in October 2012.
The six countries' authorities held a meeting on 19 March with Google to assess the company's progress, but French regulator Cnil said at the time they had seen no signs of change at Google. They previously told Google that it would have a limited time to comply or face fines by the end of the year, Le Monde reported in April. Now Cnil has set the 3 month deadline for France alone. The UK, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain will begin their own procedures.
Google’s updated its privacy policy when it merged around 60 services into a single set of rules. Changes are sought in several areas, including making information clearer about how personal data is used. Cnil seeks precise information on how long Google keeps data and thinks the company is breaking competition rules in how it gathers information on consumers who do not have a Google account.
