Google is facing new government regulations in Italy regarding the handling and collection of Internet data and has 18 months to comply with the new rules.
A government privacy watchdog agency will direct the company in policies in how to use, collect and store data from users, according to reports.
According to a report , there has been some tumultuous history between Italy and Google. Google went to court in the country after a few employees there were in hot water for posting a video online of a disabled person being bullied. They faced privacy charges, which were later thrown out, but the worldwide ripple effect no doubt had a negative impact on the company's image, especially in Italy.
In fact, as the same source reports, Democratic Party MP Francesco Boccia introduced a so-called web tax that Google was vehemently opposed to being levied. Again, the government pulled back, after the tax became known as the "Google tax".
According to a European news source, Google will need prior consent before they can use a user's data. Additionally, the company will also have to explicitly tell users if their data is being used for commercial puropses. If a user requests deletion of personal information, Google has two months to do so.
According to another source, the company has six months to scrub that same data from any and all backups. Google told reporters the company will comply with the new procedures in Italy and will have an outlined plan by September.
