Irish data protection authority launches inquiry into Google’s data processing of location data

The Irish Data protection Commission (DPC) has announced the launch of a statutory inquiry into Google’s processing of location data. The Data Protection Commission indicated that in its role as Lead Supervisory Authority for Google, it has received a number of complaints from various consumer organizations across the EU, in which concerns were raised with regard to Google’s processing of location data. The Inquiry will set out to establish whether Google has a valid legal basis for processing the location data of its users and whether it meets its obligations as a data controller with regard to transparency. According to the Irish Times, the Irish DPC has been subject to criticism recently from other EU data protection bodies, as Germany’s federal data commissioner suggested the DPC was overwhelmed and “insufficiently equipped for its task”.