When people started calling my personal mobile number with questions about a voluntary organisation I'm involved with, I was confused: we weren't sharing that number. It turns out that Google had decided to take the number I used to verify my identity for Google Business some years prior and start putting it in Google Search results. WTF, Google?
“Some years ago, I provided my phone number to Google as part of an identity verification process, but didn’t consent to it being shared publicly.”
That may have been the case at the time, but Google have a bad habit of updating legal documents and settings from time to time. Even if you didn’t consent to it directly, you may have agreed to a contract you didn’t read, which resulted in Google doing everything permitted in that contract. Chances are, the contract says that Google can legally screw around as much as they like, and you’re powerless to do anything about it.
Those pesky “We have updated our privacy policy” emails. And “by ignoring this message you have signaled consent” (paraphrasing).
People should really start demanding more sensible terms. Currently, people just don’t care, and companies are taking full advantage of the situation.
And such contracts are legally unenforceable, if you’ve got the resources to sue.