GOOG Alphabet Inc

By Rachel Pannett 

SYDNEY-- Alphabet Inc.'s Google is being taken to court by an Australian regulator that alleges the internet giant misled customers about how it collected and used personal location data.

Google said it intends to defend itself against the claims, filed by Australia's competition watchdog on Tuesday. The regulator alleges Google failed to tell users of its Android mobile phones and tablets that they had to switch off two account settings--not just one--if they didn't want the company to keep their personal information.

"We are taking court action against Google because we allege that as a result of these on-screen representations, Google has collected, kept and used highly sensitive and valuable personal information about consumers' location without them making an informed choice," Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes as Facebook Inc. and Google face the prospect of having their secretive algorithms policed by a beefed-up watchdog in Australia, under proposed changes designed to limit the power that tech giants wield over news and advertising markets.

Those proposals stem from a year-and-a-half investigation by the national competition regulator, at the direction of the Australian government, into the impact such companies have had on the country.

In its report, released in July, the regulator recommended strengthening privacy safeguards with steep penalties of up to 10% of annual domestic turnover for the misuse of data. Its recommendations are being considered by the Australian government.

In the U.S., Facebook was fined $5 billion in July by the Federal Trade Commission after it found the company had repeatedly used deceptive disclosures and account settings to lure users into sharing personal information, undermining their actual privacy preferences.

The Australian regulator's case against Google focuses on two Google Account settings: one labeled 'Location History,' and another labeled 'Web & App Activity.' It alleges that Google misled consumers from January 2017 to late 2018 by staying silent about the fact that both settings had to be switched off to stop the company collecting data.

It also alleges that from about mid-2018 until late 2018, Google further misled consumers by saying that the only way they could prevent Google from collecting, keeping and using their location data was to stop using certain Google services, including Google Search and Google Maps.

A Google spokeswoman said the company is reviewing details of the allegations. "We continue to engage with the ACCC and intend to defend this matter," she said.

The regulator is seeking penalties, declarations and orders requiring the publication of corrective notices and the establishment of a compliance program from Google.

Write to Rachel Pannett at rachel.pannett@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 29, 2019 04:37 ET (08:37 GMT)

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