German cartel office issues objections to Google data processing

FILE PHOTO: A general view of the entrance of the Google office, ahead of presentation of the detailed investment plan for Germany, in Berlin, Germany, August 31, 2021. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's cartel office regulator said on Wednesday it had issued objections against Google's data processing terms and that it expected the company to make changes accordingly.

The cartel office sent parent company Alphabet, Google Ireland Ltd and Google Germany GmbH a preliminary legal assessment on December 23, the regulator said in a statement.

It said users were not currently given sufficient choice as to whether and to what extent they agree to the far-reaching processing of their data across services.

A spokesperson for Google said the company would continue to engage constructively with the German regulator to try to resolve its concerns.

"People expect us to operate our business responsibly -- by both maintaining product experiences that put users first and updating our services continuously to meet the expectations of regulators," the spokesperson added.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Writing by Rachel More; Editing by Paul Carrel)