CNIL fines social media giants €210 million. They claim that Facebook Ireland and Google hamper or make it difficult to refuse cookies. France’s CNIL has fined Facebook €60m and Google a record €150m.
Why did CNIL fine social media giants over user tracking?
CNIL’s head of data protection and sanctions said, “When you accept cookies, it’s done in just one click.”
CNIL has fined social media giants like Google, Facebook Ireland, and Youtube as they did not allow easy refusal of cookies.
The restricted committee, the body of the CNIL responsible for issuing sanctions, has claimed that the social media giants offer a button for users to accept cookies instantly. At the same time, there is no equivalent to refusing the cookies as quickly.
According to Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act, the restricted committee consider the hindrance in refusing cookies as an infringement of freedom of consent.
What are the actions taken by CNIL over the €210 million fine?
While CNIL has fined social media giants €210 million, the restricted committee has ordered the giants to ease the refusal of cookies. Failing to do so will subject the companies to a 100,000 euros fine per day of delay.
CNIL has issued approximately 100 corrective measures since March 31, 2021, for non-compliance with the legislation on cookies. These measures were taken into account when the mobile applications to comply with the new rules on cookies and deadline set for websites expired.
In December 2020, CNIL issued a cookie-related fine against a company for 100 million euros. The 150 million euro CNIL fine against the social media giants was record-breaking.
The EU has issued significant fines against tech giants like Amazon and Apple to impose EU rules. The tech giants are under constant pressure for their business practices across Europe.
What is the response of social media giants against the €210 million CNIL fine?
The U.S. firm Google said in a statement, “In accordance with the expectations of internet users we are committed to implementing new changes, as well as to working actively with CNIL in response to its decision.”
Google issued no comments on the report.
Meta spokesperson said in a report, “We are reviewing the authority’s decision and remain committed to working with relevant authorities.” “Our cookie consent controls provide people with greater control over their data, including a new settings menu on Facebook and Instagram where people can revisit and manage their decisions at any time, and we continue to develop and improve these controls.”
In Conclusion,
According to reports from ZDNet, last year WhatsApp was issued a fine of 225 million euros “for not being transparent about how it shared data with its parent company.”
IANS reported that Facebook has violated the GDPR privacy rules about deceptive data collection policies and faces millions in fines.
Nevertheless, CNIL has set a strong statement by fining social media giants a record-breaking €210 million. The restricted committee issued the fine on December 31, 2021.
Also Read – Why Facebook, Twitter, And Youtube Lose Billions Due To Apple Privacy Rule?