Google faces action from a coalition of ten European consumer organizations over the company’s account sign-up process.
A Google Account is required to use many of its products and services. But the coalition alleges that the sign-up process leads users to options that collect more data.
Google told the BBC it welcomed the opportunity to engage with consumer advocates on the topic. The company said consumer trust depends on honesty and transparency and has “always bet our future success on creating simpler, more accessible controls and giving people clearer choices.”
The European Consumer Organization (BEUC), which coordinates the alliance, claims that the language Google uses in the registration process is “vague, incomplete and misleading”, causing many consumers to opt for less privacy-friendly options.
As a result, “millions of Europeans who sign up for a Google account have been put on a fast track to be monitored”, claims BEUC.
The consumer organization believes sign-up is the critical point at which Google asks users to choose how their account will operate. But the simplest one-step “personalization” process, it alleges, leaves consumers with account settings that “feed Google’s surveillance activities”.
And the consumer organization says that Google does not offer users the option to ‘turn off all the settings in one click.
Instead, BEUC says, it takes five clicks and ten steps to turn off the trackers that Google wants to activate on a new account related to web and app activity, YouTube history, and personalized advertising on their display.
Ursula Pachl, Deputy Director-General of BEUC, said: “This makes Google a direct step towards monitoring and exploiting everything you do. To benefit from privacy-friendly settings, you must go through a lengthy process and obscure and Navigating through a mix of mixes will have confusing choices.
Ms Pachal added: “In short, when you create a Google Account, you are subject to monitoring by design and default. Instead, privacy protection should be consumers’ default and easy choice.”
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires the platform to give users privacy by design and default. But Google says all the options are clearly labelled and designed to be straightforward.
They are based, the company says, on extensive research, guidance from regulators and testing.
BEUC members in the Czech Republic, Norway, Greece, France and Slovenia have filed GDPR complaints against Google with their respective data protection authorities. Groups in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands have written to their chiefs about the concerns.
The Federation of German Consumer Organization has sent a warning letter to Google.