Italy investigates Apple, Google, Dropbox over cloud storage
FILE - In this Nov. 12, 2015, file photo, a man walks past a building on the Google campus in Mountain View, Calif. Google said state-based hackers have targeted the campaigns of both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, although it saw no evidence that the phishing attempts were successful. The company confirmed the findings after the director of its Threat Analysis Group, Shane Huntley, disclosed the attempts Thursday, June 4, 2020, on Twitter.[AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File]
Italy’s competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Apple, Google and Dropbox over their cloud storage services.
The competition and market authority said Monday it has opened a total of six investigations into Apple iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox’s online storage service in response to complaints about unfair commercial practices and violations of the country’s consumer rights directive. In one case, it’s also looking into “vexatious clauses” in a contract.
The regulator said it’s looking into whether the three companies either failed to, or did not adequately, indicate how users’ data would be collected and used for commercial purposes. It is also examining whether Dropbox failed to provide clear and accessible information on how users could get out of contracts or pursue out of court dispute settlements.
Apple, Google, and Dropbox did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Italian probe follows wider efforts by European Union regulators to clarify the fine print tech companies use in their terms and conditions of service so consumers can better understand how their information is being used. Facebook updated its terms of service last year to clarify how it makes money from user data in response to pressure from European regulators.