The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced recently that it will investigate the alleged reports that Google has been harvesting huge amounts of data from the users utilizing Android-powered phones. Oracle, a software company unveiled that Google is collecting a gigabyte of information from devices that are using Android, which raises major concerns about the privacy of the information of millions of users in Australia and beyond.

Oracle requested ACCC to investigate the fishy deals going on in the digital platforms across the country following the alarm raised by the media group in Australia about the impact that Google and Facebook have on the traditional advertising market. Apart from the privacy concerns, Google is also suspected to be paying millions to the local telecommunication providers to send the data to their customers.

According to Oracle, Android mobile devices are capable of handling detailed information on search engines and particularly what is popularly viewed by users. The devices can also send exact locations data even when the location service icon is turned off, and without placing the Sim cards or other apps.

Google Pays Millions Annually To Access Data

It’s estimated that Google is using over AU$580 million annually secretly collect the data from the users. Oracle stated that Google is capable of snooping into the users’ accounts harvesting over one gigabyte of mobile data monthly from mobile phone users’ accounts to help boost advertisers’ revenues.

It has also emerged that the Android devices consume owners’ data even when Google Maps icon is not on or the flight mode is active. In addition, when the SIM card is removed, the data is still shared.

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ACCC stated that it will explore the matter to find out how much the mobile users know about the relevance of location data and will work closely with the privacy regulator to evaluate the impact.

According to the Oracle presentation, Google has mapped IP addresses together with WIFI connection points and mobile towers, which enables it to locate the precise location of the device without the need for the SIM card or phone’s location information.