Ireland's data privacy watchdog on Wednesday announced the launch of an inquiry into Google over the tech giant's collection of data when it comes to online advertising.

The Data Protection Commission, which acts as the lead supervisory authority for Google in the European Union, said its probe would examine whether Google's processing of data in advertising transactions breaches the bloc's privacy rules.

"A statutory inquiry pursuant to section 110 of the Data Protection Act 2018 has been commenced in respect of Google Ireland Limited's processing of personal data in the context of its online Ad Exchange," the regulator said in a statement Wednesday.

A Google spokesperson said, "We will engage fully with the DPC's investigation and welcome the opportunity for further clarification of Europe's data protection rules for real-time bidding. Authorized buyers using our systems are subject to stringent policies and standards."

Brussels last year introduced sweeping new privacy reforms known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which gave Europeans new powers in how they can control their data. Such powers include the right to find out how companies use their data, as well as the ability to force firms to destroy their data.