EU consumer groups move against Google's 'sign-up surveillance'

By making the tracker opt-out process time-consuming, Google scoops huge amounts of users' personal data.

Ten consumer groups, coordinated by the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), have accused Google of using deceptive design and misleading choices in its account sign-up process, giving the firm access to a vast amount of personal data.

They contend that Google interferes with users' ability to protect their privacy, which constitutes an unfair business practice in light of the EU GDPR requirement that users must have access to privacy by default and design.

BEUC claims that Google makes it easy for users to share their data throughout the sign-up process, by requiring just a single button click.

However, opting out is a bit more involved.

In total, it requires five clicks and ten steps to deactivate the trackers Google tries to enable on a new account. These trackers relate to site and app activity, YouTube history, and individualised advertising.

'The language Google uses at every step of the registration process is unclear, incomplete, and misleading,' the group said.

'Google also frames the more privacy-friendly options as missing out on advantages. This prevents the consumer from taking an informed decision when they make their choices and results in unfair, non-transparent and unlawful processing of their personal data.'

The group also says Google is not transparent about how it uses the personal data it gathers.

As a consequence, 'tens of millions of Europeans have been put on a fast track to surveillance, when they signed up to a Google account.'

Dutch, Danish, and Swedish consumer groups have written to their privacy authorities to inform them of Google's activities; and Slovenian, Greek, Czech, and French consumer organisations have filed complaints with their respective data protection authorities. The German consumer body has submitted a letter to Google, which could lead to a civil lawsuit.

European privacy laws differ from nation to nation, and certain agencies are compelled to look into each formal complaint they receive.

For its part, Google argues that users have a number of options to choose from when they create a Google account.

"These options are clearly labelled and designed to be simple to understand. We have based them on extensive research efforts and guidance from DPAs (data protection authorities) and feedback from testers," a spokesperson told the BBC.

"We are committed to ensuring these choices are clear and simple."

In January, the French privacy watchdog fined Google and Facebook a combined €210 million for a related violation. The regulator said the companies made it too difficult for users to reject web cookies.

In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday, a coalition of American tech and consumer organisations detailed identical issues about Google's unclear language and the time-consuming steps required to opt out of data-sharing.

The FTC said last year that it would step up its investigations into how firms employ misleading strategies to entice customers to their services before making it difficult for them to withdraw from the service.