Google is facing a complaint from an Austrian non-profit organization that claims the search giant violated a European Union (EU) court order. In a complaint filed with France’s data protection authority, the Nationale de l’informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), the group alleges that Google sends advertising emails directly to a user’s inbox without the user’s consent. Google’s free email service displays ads included in an email list, denoted by the word ‘advertisement’.
one in Complaint Filed with French data watchdog CNIL, Austria-based NOYB (None of Your Business) claims Google has “repeatedly ignored” a European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruling on direct marketing email, unsolicited without seeking consent. Sending advertising emails to its users.
According to NOYB, the company’s free email service successfully filters out external spam messages, but sends unwanted messages in the form of ads without consent, as if the user had subscribed to those emails.
group cites a 2021 verdict By CJUE stating that any advertisement in the User’s inbox is subject to the Terms of Consent. Google displays ads in users’ inboxes that are represented by the word ad. The company could face fines from CNIL without requiring the watchdog to cooperate with other data protection authorities (DPAs) in Europe, as the complaint is based on the e-Privacy Directive and not the GDPR.
This is not the first complaint filed by NOYB against Google in CNIL. In December 2021, CNIL fined Google 50 million euros (approximately Rs 400 crore) on a complaint from NOYB and another advocacy group, La Quadrcher du Net (LQDN), based in France, over opaque and vague privacy notices for cookies. . CNIL has also fined Google EUR 150 million (approximately Rs 1,200 crore) over cookie violations.
