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Vienna (dpa) - The Viennese data protection activist Max Schrems has filed a lawsuit against Google in France.

He accuses the US tech giant of illegally pursuing Android phone users without their consent.

This was announced by the Austrian data protection organization Noyb on Wednesday, confirming a report in the British daily "Financial Times".

Smartphones with the Google Android operating system generate unique advertising IDs that enable Google and third-party providers to track users' surfing behavior in order to target them with advertising.

In a complaint to the French data protection authority CNIL, Schrems' data protection organization Noyb argues that Google did not ask users for permission beforehand before the promotional codes were created and saved.

These are "illegal operations".

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Noyb had previously supported legal steps taken by a private user against the advertising ID on Apple's iPhones (Identifier for Advertisers, IDFA).

The case is currently being examined by the Austrian and Spanish data protection agencies.

The US group has rejected Noyb's allegations as "factually inaccurate".

Apple refers to extensive possibilities to prevent the tracking of user behavior for personalized advertising.

With the iOS 14.5 operating system, which is expected in the coming weeks, Apple is expanding the approval requirement for any form of tracking, which has led to complaints from advertising giants such as Facebook.

Noyb has now asked the French data protection authority to initiate an investigation into Google's tracking practices and to force the company to comply with data protection rules.

At the same time, the association called on the CNIL to impose fines on Google if the tech giant was proven to have acted wrongly.

Schrems emphasized that the hidden ID enables Google and all apps on the phone to track users and to combine information about online and offline behavior.

The use of these trackers clearly requires user consent, which Google does not require.

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Schrems is best known for his argument with Facebook.

Before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) he achieved two spectacular successes, which concern the entire data exchange between the USA and the European Union.

In October 2015, at Schrem's instigation, the ECJ overturned the EU-US data protection agreement “Safe Harbor”.

Last June, Schrems brought down the successor regulation “Privacy Shield” before the ECJ.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210407-99-111661 / 2

Communication noyb

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Noyb complaint against Apple's IDFA

Complain to the CNIL