Italian watchdog OKs Google's commitments to end data case

Italy's AGCM competition watchdog said on Monday it had accepted commitments proposed by Google to end a case over the tech giant's alleged abuse of its dominant position in the user data portability market.

The regulator opened the investigation last year following a complaint from Italian startup Hoda which accused Google of hindering the right of the U.S. company's users to share their personal data with other digital service platforms.

In response to the probe, Google proposed some changes to its data backup service in order to enhance users' ability to extract their personal data from the Alphabet unit's services, the regulator said in a statement.

The company also pledged to make available a test version of a tool it is developing to enable other digital service operators to access personal data that users generate through their activity on Alphabet services, the statement said.

The new tool will be officially released next year.

"All in all, the authority deemed Google's commitments as suitable to remove concerns over competition," the AGCM said.

A Google spokesperson welcomed the AGCM's decision, adding the company was investing in data portability "in a way that improves user experience while protecting user privacy and security".

Last year, the AGCM had said the alleged abuse could "constrain the economic benefits that consumers can derive from their data" as well limiting competition.

Google faced a fine of up to 10% of its annual global sales if found guilty of abusing its position.