Ireland's data regulator just fined Google 403 million euros for how it handles your location.
The Data Protection Commission, Google's lead privacy regulator in the EU, announced the penalty on September 21 following a formal inquiry into the company's processing of location data. The DPC's announcement did not specify which GDPR provisions were violated. Google is headquartered in Ireland for EU regulatory purposes, which is why Dublin's watchdog gets first crack at policing its practices across the bloc. The commission has not released further findings from the inquiry beyond the size of the fine.
Location data is some of the most sensitive information a company can hold: it can reveal where someone lives, works, worships, or seeks medical care. A fine this size signals that regulators are still willing to go after core ad-tech plumbing, not just headline-grabbing AI products. For Google, it's another entry in a lengthening tab of European privacy enforcement.
Expect an appeal, and expect this number to look modest next to whatever the DPC finds next.