An Australian court rejected allegations by the telecoms regulator that Google misled customers about the expanded use of personal data, ordering the watchdog to pay the search giant’s legal cost.

In a ruling last week, the court found notifications to consumers and changes to Google’s privacy policy to expand the scope of its collection and use of personal data were not misleading because the company asked for users’ consent and only implemented changes if this was given fully.

It also noted Google did not reduce users’ rights under the updated privacy policy.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed a case against Google in July 2020 claiming the company did not ask for consumers’ explicit consent and failed to inform them when it started combining personal information in their accounts with data about their activities on non-Google sites.

After the policy change, Google started combining personal information in consumers’ accounts with data about their activities on non-Google sites for a more targeted advertising programme.

ACCC acting chair Delia Rickard stated it will now “carefully consider the judgment”.