Google will pay off its new €403M GDPR fine in just 55 hours, warns Proton
Ireland's Data Protection Commission has slapped Google with the largest ever fine for unlawfully processing location data. Yet, privacy firm Proton warns that the company will pay it off in just 55 hours, raising serious questions about the effectiveness of GDPR enforcement against Big Tech.
Google has been fined €403 million ($462 million) by Ireland's Data Protection Commission for improperly using user location data. However, privacy experts warn that the fine is too small to make a real difference in the company's behavior. According to Proton, a privacy-focused VPN provider, the fine represents only 55 hours of Google's revenue for Alphabet, the parent company.
The DPC's decision follows a review of Google's practices between 2018 and 2020, making it one of the largest GDPR penalties ever imposed on the company. While the fine may seem like a significant punishment, it is actually a drop in the bucket for a company like Alphabet, which generated $200 million in daily free cash flow in 2025.
Privacy advocates, including Jurgita Miseviciute from Proton, argue that the current regulatory framework is ineffective at deterring such violations. They call for stronger penalties that could impact a tech giant's bottom line, rather than just being a cost of doing business.
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