Regulators in France have fined Google and Facebook for 210m euros total over the use of cookies.
Data privacy watchdog, the CNIL, said that both sites were making it difficult for internet users to refuse the cookies, which are online trackers. Consent for the use of cookies is key to the EU’s data-privacy regulation and a major priority for the CNIL.
Google and Facebook have three months to comply or will face penalties of 100 000 euros for each day of delay.
Cookies are little packets of data that allow web browsers to store information and provide targeted advertising as an example.
“When you accept cookies, it’s done in just one click,” said Karin Kiefer, the CNIL’s head of data protection and sanctions. “Rejecting cookies should be as easy as accepting them.”
In its statement, the Commission Nationale Informatique & Libertés said it had found that while the tech giants provided a virtual button to allow the immediate acceptance of cookies, there was no equivalent to refuse them as easily.
Google, which was fined 150m euros, said: “People trust us to respect their right to privacy and keep them safe. We understand our responsibility to protect that trust and are committing to further changes and active work with the CNIL in [the] light of this decision.”
Facebook, now owned by Meta, said it was “reviewing” the decision to fine it 60m euros.
“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,” it said.
Cookies are highly valuable for Google and Facebook as ways to personalise advertising, which is their primary source of revenue.
But privacy advocates have campaigned against it.
This is not the first time Google, owned by Alphabet, has been slapped with heavy fines for falling foul of European law.
Sources: BBC, Daily Sun
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