Back in October 2012, after several months’ investigation led by the French data protection authority, the CNIL, the European data protection authorities published their joint conclusions on Google’s latest confidentiality rules. The authorities recommended to Google that it should improve the information it gave data subjectsn and clarify the way in which data was combined across Google’s many services. Lastly, they asked Google to provide precise retention periods for the personal data it processes. Google was given a four-month deadline to respondbut the CNIL revealed on 18 February that no answer has been given.
A press release on the CNIL web site states that the relevant data protection authorities ‘have noted that Google did not provide any precise and effective answers to their recommendations. In this context, the EU data protection authorities are committed to act and continue their investigations. Therefore, they propose to set up a working group, lead by the CNIL, in order to coordinate their repressive action which should take place before summer.’
The plan for ‘coordinated repressive action’ will be submitted to the Article 29 Working Party for approval during the next plenary meeting on February 26.
