Spain take action against Google over data privacy

Spanish privacy watchdogs say they're joining counterparts in France and Italy in bringing legal action against Google over its data collection practices. La Agencia Espanola de Proteccion de Datos has accused Google of five serious breaches of data privacy laws, each breach carrying potential fines of as much as $400,000, ZDNet reported Friday. Spanish authorities allege the search giant is not clear in its published policy about what it will do with data it gathers. Because of this, they say, users are unable to judge whether the data collection is justified. The Spanish watchdog agency said it has been coordinating its actions with data protection bodies in Germany, France, Holland, Italy and Britain. Italy and France initiated similar proceedings against Google Thursday. In a statement, Google said its privacy policy "respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services," adding it would maintain its cooperation with authorities on the matter.