EU imposes record Data Privacy Fine on Amazon

European Union has imposed a fine of $886.6 million or 746 million euro on Amazon.com Inc. European Union fined Amazon for processing personal data in violation of EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Key Points

• Fine was imposed by Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) on Amazon Europe Core. However, Amazon has decided to challenge the penalty
• CNPD has alleged that e-tail giant had manipulated users’ data to show what advertising and information they receive.
• Collective complaint was filed against Amazon by 10,000 people in accordance with EU’s GDPR that requires companies to get people’s consent before using their personal data or face fines.

Background

Tech giants have increasingly come under scrutiny of regulators in EU after it enacted its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018. GDPR provides enough teeth to go after any abuse of users’ data.  GDPR was put forward after three years of negotiations among EU members. Now, GDPR have been incorporated as part of their national laws as a result companies can face action across jurisdictions in case, they violate the rules.

About GDPR

GDPR came in to effect in 2018. Basic idea of the regulation is that companies should get explicit consent of users before leveraging any data or information they collect from them. It seeks to achieve its goal by imposing steep fines.

Google under GDPR

Apart from Amazon, largest penalty was slapped on tech giant Google in 2019. French data privacy watchdog had asked google to pay $57 million. Fine was imposed after finding that “advertising targeting on its Android operating system does not comply with DGPR”.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2021