Google tells privacy watch dog that it ceased manual Google Assistant audio clip reviews

Google Assistant on a Pixel phone. (Flickr)

Google announced that it has ended a program in Europe that involved contractors listening to private audio recordings after Hamburg authorities ordered it to stop the practice.

The Hamburg data protection authority informed Google that it was in violation of Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) after a Google contractor leaked 1,000 private Google Assistant audio recordings to a Flemish news organization last month.

It is not clear if Google continues the manual review process outside of the European Union, where GDPR law does not apply.

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