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Euro Regulators Target Google

Google’s privacy policies are under fire from European privacy regulators who aren’t happy with the company’s one-size-fits-all privacy policy.

The move was sparked by Google’s decision to implement a European-wide privacy policy, rather than having different policies for each country.

Last October the Europeans gave Google three-four months to fix issues with the policy, specifically the sharing of private information on YouTube and Gmail. (Most of the requested changes centered on issues such as making opt-outs more transparent.)

Representatives from Google denied any wrongdoing saying:

…respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services. We have engaged fully with the DPAs involved throughout this process, and we’ll continue to do.”

Google is used for as much as 95% of all web searches in Europe, which is one reason regulators have the company in their sights. (For comparison, Google has a 65% market share in the United States.)

Whatever action the the governments take against Google isn’t likely to inflict much pain. The highest fine the French can impose in this case equals out to about $385,000 (US). That’s about how much Google earns every three minutes.

Are privacy regulators being too hard on Google? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.