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Syndication: Daytona Beach News-Journal
New York (77WABC) – Amazon is facing a whopping $887 million fine for allegedly breaking European Union data protection laws. The fine was given by the National Commission for Data Protection in Luxembourg, which claims the tech giant’s use of personal data did not comply with EU law.
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules requires companies to seek consent from people before using their personal data or face heavy fines. The fine was dealt out on July 16 and disclosed Friday in a financial filing.
It is the largest in the law’s three-year history. Google was fined $57 million for similar circumstances in 2019.
“Maintaining the security of our customers’ information and their trust are top priorities,” said an Amazon spokeswoman. “There has been no data breach, and no customer data has been exposed to any third party. These facts are undisputed.”
She stressed that the firm strongly disagrees with the CNPD’s ruling and intends to appeal.
“The decision relating to how we show customers relevant advertising relies on subjective and untested interpretations of European privacy law, and the proposed fine is entirely out of proportion with even that interpretation,” she added.
