Google users set to lose EU data protections after Brexit
Google is planning to move its British users’ accounts out of the control of the European Union privacy regulators and place them under US jurisdiction.
Ireland, where Google and other US tech firms have their headquarters, remains in the EU and its data is protected by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Reuters reported that Google has decided to moves its users out of the Irish jurisdiction because it is unclear whether Britain will follow GDPR following its exit from the EU.
If British users have their data kept in Ireland it would be more difficult for British authorities to obtain data in criminal investigations.
The EU is known for having some of the world’s strictest data laws while the US has some of the weakest.
Sign up to City PM’s Midday Update newsletter, delivered to your inbox every lunchtime
“Nothing about our services or our approach to privacy will change, including how we collect or process data, and how we respond to law enforcement demands for users’ information,” Google said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
“The protections of the UK GDPR will still apply to these users.”
It is reported that Google will require its British users to acknowledge new terms of service, including the new jurisdiction.
Google’s former lead for global privacy technology, Lea Kissner, told Reuters: “There’s a bunch of noise about the UK government possibly trading away enough data protection to lose adequacy under GDPR, at which point having them in Google Ireland’s scope sounds super-messy.”
“Never discount the desire of tech companies not be caught in between two different governments.”
Earlier this month the Irish data regulator opened an inquiry into the way Google handles users’ data.
The Irish Data Protection Commission said it would investigate the tech giant for its processing of location data.