Google changes user data practices to end German antitrust probe

FILE PHOTO: A logo is pictured at Google's European Engineering Center in Zurich, Switzerland July 19, 2018. Picture taken July 19, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) -Alphabet unit Google has agreed to change its user data practices to end a German antitrust investigation aimed at curbing its data-driven market power, the German cartel office said on Thursday.

The German antitrust watchdog in January issued a charge sheet known as a statement of objections to Google over its data processing terms, saying that users were not given sufficient choice as to whether and to what extent they agree to the far-reaching processing of their data across the company's services.