The European Union is looking into the extent of Google's location tracking again, as concerns have been raised over what is being tracked beyond location.

As reported by Bloomberg, the Irish Data Protection Commission said that "the issues raised within the concerns relate to the legality of Google's processing of location data and the transparency surrounding that processing." Those concerns are focused on Google and other companies collecting information on users' shopping and commuting habits, sexual orientation, and political affiliations.

The Irish Data Protection Commission is the authority over the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which gives individuals control over their own data and demands data collection be done so with consent and for legitimate reasons. Because GDPR protects all EU citizens globally, American companies such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon are subject to the requirements and the penalties.

This new investigation adds to a list of 20 ongoing investigations happening into many large technology companies including Google's parent company Alphabet, Facebook, Twitter, Tinder, and Apple.

At the start of 2019, Google was fined a record €50 million over GDPR violations, but some argue that is still not enough to keep the search giant in check. GDPR regulation could result in a penalty of four percent of a company's annual global turnover, meaning Google could potentially be fined billions for a severe enough violation.

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