European Privacy Supervisor Amazon fined him $ 887 million

LONDON – Amazon was fined 746m euros ($ 887m) by the European Privacy Supervisor for violating the bloc’s data protection law.

The fine, which Amazon revealed on Friday in a securities submission, was handed down two weeks ago by a Luxembourg privacy regulator.

The Luxembourg National Data Protection Commission said that Amazon’s processing of personal data is not in accordance with EU General Data Protection Regulation.

He ordered Amazon to review certain undisclosed business practices.

Amazon has denied that there has been any breach that would violate GDPR rules.

“Maintaining the security of our customers’ data and their trust are top priorities, ”an Amazon spokesman told CNBC.

“There was no data breach, nor was customer data exposed to a third party,” they added.

“These facts are indisputable. We strongly disagree with the CNPD’s decision and intend to appeal. The decision on how we present relevant advertising to clients relies on subjective and unverified interpretations of European privacy law, and the proposed fine is completely disproportionate. “even with that interpretation. “

The CNPD did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The CNPD investigation reportedly began in 2018 after French privacy group La Quadrature du Net filed a lawsuit against Amazon.

La Quadrature du Net did not immediately respond to a comment, but Bastien Le Querrec, a member of the La Quadrature court team, cautiously welcomed the decision, according to Bloomberg.

“The first step is to see a fine that is dissuasive, but we need to stay vigilant and see if the decision also includes a ban on correcting behavior that violates rights,” he reportedly said.

According to the GDPR, data protection supervisors in Europe have the ability to penalize companies as much as 4% of their annual global sales.

Although Amazon’s fine is hundreds of millions, it is relatively small in the grand scheme of things.

Amazon has released its own third consecutive quarter of $ 100 billion on Thursday, with revenue growth of 27% over last year to $ 113.08 billion.

Correction: The title of this story has been updated to more accurately reflect the organization that imposed the sentence.