Privacy action group NOYB is suing Google for allegedly violating a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). According to NOYB, Google illegally pushes unsolicited advertising emails to the inboxes of Gmail users.
NOYB’s complaint to the French watchdog CNIL argues that Google violates a European court ruling on direct marketing emails. The tech giant allegedly uses its platform to send unsolicited advertising emails without requesting user permission.
These direct marketing emails reportedly look like regular emails and therefore end up directly in users’ inboxes instead of the spam box. According to NOYB, users are confronted with advertisements regardless of consent. Direct marketing emails are subject to strict EU regulations.
Ignoring the European Court
NOYB argues that Google ignores a European court ruling on inbox advertisements. Not only is it mandatory to obtain end user consent for direct marketing emails; any form of inbox advertising requires permission. This includes emails that don’t look like direct marketing emails at first glance, but nonetheless are.
Stop or face a fine
In its complaint to the French privacy regulator, NOYB indicates that it wants Google to stop these practices immediately. If not, NOYB says, the tech giant should be fined.
Google and CNIL have battled over privacy violations before. The regulator fined Google €150 million in December 2021 for cookie violations. Moreover, a NOYB complaint led to a €50 million Google fine for unclear privacy statements and personalized ads in 2020.
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