France’s data protection authority slapped U.S. tech giant Google and Chinese online fast-fashion retailer Shein with massive fines for breaching laws on internet cookies.
The CNIL fined Google a record €325 million “for displaying advertisements between Gmail users’ emails without their consent and for placing cookies when creating Google accounts, without valid consent of French users,” the watchdog said in a statement announcing the move late Wednesday.
The Irish subsidiary of Shein was fined €150 million for placing “cookies without the consent of internet users,” “not respecting their choices” and “not informing them properly,” the CNIL said.
The Google fine, in particular, risks drawing the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has ramped up pressure on the EU after striking a lopsided trade deal in July. Trump threatened to impose severe tariffs on countries that implement “discriminatory” regulations or taxes that target U.S. tech firms.
European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič on Monday made an 11th-hour intervention to stop the Commission from issuing a penalty against Google over its search advertising practices, amid Trump’s continuing threats. The intervention came against the wishes of Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera.
The CNIL’s move to fine both the American search giant and the Chinese e-commerce firm at the same time could give it cover, should Trump accuse Europe of discriminating against U.S. Big Tech.
Both decisions were dated Sept. 1, but were announced late Wednesday evening.
The CNIL issued two fines against Google: €200 million against Google LLC and €125 million against Google Ireland, which serves as the tech giant’s European headquarters. The watchdog gave Google six months to stop displaying ads between emails in Gmail without users’ consent, and to get “valid consent” for advertising cookies from users when they create a Google account, with further fines for every day it delays. Cookies are files stored on a user’s device that contain data used to identify them and track their online activity.
The fine was particularly high, the CNIL said, because of the “very high number of people affected,” Google’s “central position in the online advertising market” and the popularity of Gmail.
The CNIL also accused Google of being “negligent, given that they had previously been sanctioned by the CNIL on two occasions, in 2020 and 2021, for breaches relating to cookies.” Those fines totaled €100 million and €150 million respectively.
“People have always been able to control the ads they see in our products,” said a Google spokesperson in a written statement. “Over the last two years, as the CNIL has acknowledged, we made additional updates to address their concerns, including an easy way to decline personalized ads in one click when creating a Google account, and changes to the way ads are presented in Gmail. We’re reviewing the decision.”
Shein said in a statement to AFP it had updated its systems to comply with the CNIL’s requirements under French and European law since the investigation. It told the news agency it would appeal the fine, which it said was “totally disproportionate given the nature of the alleged grievances” and its “current compliance.”
This article has been updated with Google’s statement.
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