Amazon suffers a new blow in Europe: it has received a record fine for alleged violation of user privacy, by breaching the General Data Protection Regulation of the EU. The punishment comes from the National Data Protection Commission of Luxembourg, according to the US company itself.
According to Bloomberg, the company led by Andy Jassy must face the highest fine applied under European data protection laws. The figure is nothing less than 746 million euros, although the Luxembourg authority has not publicly confirmed it.
As we mentioned at the beginning, the novelty was known through Amazon itself. The company referred to the fine in filing form 10-Q in front of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Verge He accessed the documentation and highlighted the fragment in which Amazon refers to the fine:
On July 16, 2021, the Luxembourg National Data Protection Commission (the “CNPD”) issued a decision against Amazon Europe Core S.à rl alleging that the processing of personal data by Amazon did not comply with the General Regulation Data Protection of the European Union. The decision imposes a fine of 746 million euros and the corresponding practical reviews. We believe that the CNPD’s decision is unfounded and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter.
The fine received by Amazon in Europe is a clear sign that the company is permanently under the scrutiny of the authorities. In this case, the intervention of the National Data Protection Commission occurs because the firm has its European headquarters in Luxembourg.
Recall that in 2019 the European Commission opened an antitrust investigation against Amazon. During this year, meanwhile, Spain began to investigate the company – and also Apple – for possible anti-competitive practices.
In relation to the record fine imposed for an alleged violation of user privacy, Amazon announced that it will appeal the punishment issued from Luxembourg. “We totally disagree with the CNPD’s decision and intend to appeal. The decision regarding how we show customers relevant advertising is based on subjective and unproven interpretations of European privacy law,” the company told The Wall Street Journal, adding: “The proposed fine is totally disproportionate, even under that interpretation.”