Italy’s competition regulator has issued €20 million in fines to Google LLC and Apple Inc. over the way the two tech giants collect consumers’ data through their respective services.

Each company was ordered to pay €10 million, or about $11.32 million. The sum represents the maximum penalty that can be issued over the type of problems identified in the companies’ business practices, Italy’s competition regulator said today. 

“The Antitrust Authority has ascertained for each company two violations of the Consumer Code, one for informative deficiencies and another for aggressive practises related to the acquisition and use of consumer data for commercial purposes,” the regulator said in a translated statement obtained by AppleInsider.

Most of the issues identified by the regulator relate to the way that the two tech giants request consumers’ permission to use their data during the account creation process.

Google, the regulator said, doesn’t properly inform consumers who are creating a Google Account that their data will be collected and processed for commercial purposes. Officials have also found fault in the method that Google uses during the account creation process to secure consumers’ permission to process and transfer their data.

In the case of Apple, it was similarly determined that the iPhone maker doesn’t share sufficient details about its data collection practices when users are signing up for an Apple ID. Moreover, Italy’s competition regulator concluded that the interface settings the iPhone maker provides for agreeing to data collection don’t meet regulatory requirements.

It was additionally determined that Google and Apple fail to share sufficient information about their data collection practices after the account creation phase, while consumers are using their respective services.

Both Google and Apple have indicated that they intend to appeal.

“We have transparent and fair practices in order to provide our users with helpful tools and clear information about their usage,” Google told TechCrunch today. “We give people simple controls to manage their information and limit the use of personal data, and we work hard to be fully compliant with the consumer protection rules. We disagree with the Authority’s decision and we will appeal.”

Apple issued a statement saying that “we believe the Authority’s view is wrong and will be appealing the decision. Apple has a long-standing commitment to the privacy of our users and we work incredibly hard to design products and features that protect customer data. We provide industry-leading transparency and control to all users so they can choose what information to share or not, and how it is used.”

For both Google and Apple, the penalties represent the second time in a year they’ve been fined by Italy’s competition regulator. 

Google was ordered to pay €100 million in May for blocking an electric car charging app from its Android Auto service. Android Auto enables users to access mobile apps via their cars’ built-in displays. Earlier, Apple received a €10 million fine after it was found to have misled consumers about the iPhone’s water resistance features.

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