Germany’s Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office) has issued objections against Google’s data processing terms and said it may need to change the way it operates.

In December 2022 Google’s parent company Alphabet was sent a primary legal statement. In the statement published on the regulator’s website, it said users of Google’s services were not given sufficient choice in how their data is used.

Under the current terms and conditions, Google can combine a variety of data sets from various services and use them to create detailed user profiles, which can be exploited for various purposes including advertising.

The Bundeskartellamt is concerned about the reach of Google’s services under these terms, including its own services, third party websites and background services like Google Play, which can gather data from Android devices on a regular basis.

The regulator said that based on the current terms, the choices offered to users about their data are not sufficiently transparent and are too general.

Commenting on the news Andreas Mundt, president of the Bundeskartellamt, said: “Google’s business model relies heavily on the processing of user data. Due to its established access to relevant data gathered from a large number of different services, Google enjoys a strategic advantage over other companies.”

He added: “Google’s practices must be measured against the requirements under the new competition rules for large digital companies. The company has to give users sufficient choice as to how their data are processed.”

National Technology News has approached Google for comment.

This follows the news that the German cartel office has finished proceedings against Google’s online news service, after the company made changes to benefit publishers.

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