Google will simplify the transfer of personal data of users to third-party services
Google is simplifying the backup and transfer of users’ personal data to third-party services in response to an investigation regarding the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) conducted by the Italian antimonopoly authority AGCM, writes The Verge.
According to this authority, Google’s commitments “will ensure significant automation of the data export procedure” and “improve the interoperability mechanism that makes data available in the Google ecosystem available to third-party platforms.”
Google made three commitments to settle the investigation. The first two involve improving the Google Takeout service. And the third one is the introduction of a new solution that will “enable the direct transfer of data from service to service” for authorized third-party operators, in particular regarding data obtained as a result of user activity on Google and YouTube.
As 9to5Google notes, the third commitment appears to be based on the work Google is already doing within Data Transfer Initiative. It is an open source project that supports the direct transfer of user data between online platforms. In 2020, this initiative introduced a cross-service data transfer tool that allows Facebook users to transfer their photos and videos to Google Photos without having to manually upload and re-upload files.
Google Takeout already allows users to export their personal YouTube videos along with their search history and comments on the platform for backup and preparation for export to third-party services. A solution for direct transfer from one service to another will simplify and speed up this process for users and third-party operators. The option is planned to be launched in the first quarter of 2024.
We remind that the investigation began after the Italian startup Hoda accused Google of preventing its American users from sharing personal data with other digital service platforms.