The departure of the United Kingdom from the Europe Union could have consequences for the way in which the private data of British users of Google services are collected and processed. The technological giant plans to stop following the rules of the General Data Protection Regulation in the territory, moving on to follow US law. The move could put users 'information at stake, in addition to facilitating British authorities' access to sensitive data.
According to internal sources that Reuters had access to, Google is considering making the decision as, for the moment, there are no certainty about the direction the UK will take in relation to the GDPR. Should the change in fact happen, British users will be required to follow Google's new terms of service, as well as US protection rules.
In the United States, the collection and processing of user data is governed by the CLOUD Act. In addition to allowing the British authorities greater access to the information collected by US companies, the regulation is considered by many to be one of the weakest in terms of protection of user information.
Remember that Google owns one of the largest collections of user data worldwide, which are used to personalize services and sell ads. Apparently, the Mountain View giant will not be the only one to have to decide what regulation to apply in the case of the United Kingdom. Sources contacted by Reuters reveal that other US technology companies are already planning what the best course to take is.
