The Italian authorities are sure that Manzana and Google they are benefiting from the use they make of their users’ data, without telling these users what their purposes for their data are. Because, the Italian regulator has imposed a fine of 10 million on both companies euros for this, in addition to urging them to stop doing so.
Just a few days after imposing a fine of 230 thousand dollars on Apple for fixing prices with Amazon in the country, the Competition and Markets Authority of Italy has alleged that both companies violate the Consumer Code to impose new fines on technology.
Thus, in a statement, the entity that imposes the fine has indicated that «The Antitrust Authority has verified for each company two violations of the Consumer Code, one related to information deficiencies and the other for aggressive practices related to the purchase and use of consumer data for commercial purposes.«.
The statement continues to detail the reasons and bases for the fines, noting that «Google bases its economic activity on the offer of a wide range of products and services connected to the Internet, also based on the profiling of users, which is carried out thanks to their data. Apple collects, profiles, and uses its users’ data for business purposes through the use of its devices and services. Therefore, even without proceeding with any data transfer to third parties, Apple directly exploits its economic value through a promotional activity to increase the sale of its products or that of third parties through its App Store, iTunes Store and Apple commercial platforms. Books«.
The fine imposed by the Italian Competition and Markets Authority is the highest that can be imposed in the country by proven actions for both companies according to national consumer laws. For Apple, it is not the first time that they have received a fine of this amount in the country, since in 2020 they imposed another one of the same value for confusing users of their iPhones when communicating through marketing the level of resistance to water from these terminals.
