Amazon fined $887 million by European privacy watchdog

A European privacy watchdog fined Amazon for 746 million euros, or $887 million, for violating the bloc’s data protection laws.

The fine was issued two weeks ago by Luxembourg’s privacy regular, revealed in a securities filing by Amazon on Friday.

According to Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection, the processing of personal data by Amazon did not comply with EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.

The watchdog has ordered the ecommerce giant, whose European headquarters is in Luxembourg, to revise some undisclosed business practices.

Amazon, on the other hand, has denied any violation of the GDPR rules.

“Maintaining the security of our customers’ information and their trust are top priorities,” said an Amazon spokesperson, reported CNBC.

“There has been no data breach, and no customer data has been exposed to any third party,” they added.

“These facts are undisputed. We strongly disagree with the CNPD’s ruling, and we intend 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.”

The investigation by CNPD started in 2018 after French privacy rights group La Quadrature du Net filed a complaint against Amazon.

(With inputs from CNBC)

Picture Credits: CNBC