Google has been fined 403 million euros ($463 million) by Ireland's Data Protection Commission.

The fine is for breaching the European Union's strict privacy rules on location data.

The regulator said Google did not process location data lawfully or fairly.

This data was in users' Web & App Activity and Location History.

Regulators also found Google failed to be lawful, fair and transparent.

This concerned personal data in its Location Accuracy feature on Android.

Ireland is the lead regulator for Google in the 27-nation EU.

This is because the company's European headquarters is in Dublin.

The investigation opened six years ago.

It covered the period from 2018 until February 2020.

The EU's General Data Protection Regulation took effect in 2018.

Google said the case centers on historical policies that have since been updated.

It said that from 2019 onwards it has significantly evolved its practices.

It has also launched tools to make managing location data simple.

Regulators said location data is personal data that Google collects.

They said Google can use it to infer someone's location.

Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said location data can bring both benefits and harms to individuals.

He said it can enhance online services.

However, it can also reveal a lot of information about a person, including private details.

It is the fourth biggest EU privacy fine issued by the Irish watchdog.

The watchdog has handed out bigger fines to TikTok and Meta.

The regulator said it still has three other ongoing privacy investigations involving Google.