Regulators should impose substantial fines on technology companies that unlawfully track users' location data.

International headlines for September 23, 2026 include reports that Google was fined 403 million euros by Ireland over unlawful tracking of users' location data. The case has renewed debate over whether regulators should impose substantial, headline-scale fines on technology companies that track users unlawfully, or whether penalties should focus on remediation and proportional deterrence.