Google parent posts high profit amid privacy concerns

Google’s parent company Alphabet on Monday reported strong first-quarter profit growth despite increasing concerns over data collection, which drives a significant amount of the company’s business model.

{mosads}Over the last quarter, Google’s profits increased by 84 percent. The $9.6 billion it netted in profit is much higher than the roughly $6.5 billion some analysts predicted it would bring in.

The company was able to generate much of its money through ads Google sold on its search engine, on YouTube and on its bevy of partner websites. 

Some investors have been concerned about Google dipping into more cost-intensive ventures, like its cloud computing offerings, but the company’s high profits have put such concerns to rest in the interim.

Concerns over regulation may have also worried investors as lawmakers in the U.S. scrutinize the tech industry’s data collection practices.

Facebook’s data scandal over Cambridge Analytica, a British research firm hired by the Trump campaign, have stoked new concerns over privacy and the data collection policies of internet companies. This concern has translated into criticism and threats of regulation from politicians across the world.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before lawmakers earlier this month. Key committees had originally invited Google CEO Sundar Pichai to testify as well.

In Europe, regulators are more firmly considering new rules and, in some cases, have taken already action.

Last year, the European Commission handed Google a multibillion-dollar fine. The European Union is currently considering new hefty new taxes on technology firms.