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The Amazon logo displayed on a smartphone and PC screen.
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LONDON – Amazon has been fined 746 million euros ($ 887 million) by a European privacy watchdog for breaking the bloc’s data protection laws.
The fine, disclosed by Amazon on Friday in a securities depository, was pronounced two weeks ago by the Luxembourg privacy regulator.
The Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection has stated that Amazon’s processing of personal data does not comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
He ordered Amazon to review some undisclosed business practices.
Amazon has denied that there was any violation that would violate GDPR rules.
“Maintaining the security of our customers’ information and their trust is a top priority,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC.
“There was no data breach and no customer data was exposed to a third party,” they added.
“These facts are undisputed. We strongly disagree with the CNPD’s decision and intend to appeal. The decision on how we show customers relevant advertising is based on subjective and untested interpretations of EU privacy law, and the proposed fine is grossly disproportionate even with this interpretation. “
CNPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.
The CNPD investigation reportedly began in 2018 after French privacy group La Quadrature du Net filed a complaint against Amazon.
La Quadrature du Net did not immediately respond to the comments, but Bastien Le Querrec, a member of La Quadrature’s litigation team, cautiously welcomed the decision, according to Bloomberg.
“This is a first step towards seeing a deterrent fine, but we must remain vigilant and see if the decision also includes an injunction to correct the offending behavior,” he reportedly said.
Under the GDPR, data protection supervisors in Europe have the ability to tax companies up to 4% of their annual global sales.
While Amazon’s fine runs into the hundreds of millions, it’s relatively small in the grand scheme of things.
Amazon on Thursday released its third consecutive quarter of $ 100 billion, with revenue growing 27% year-on-year to $ 113.08 billion.
Correction: The title of this story has been updated to more accurately reflect the organization that imposed the fine.
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