In Luxembourg, Amazon has been fined $880 million by authorities due to allegations that the company violated the EU’s data protection rules. The company announced the fine on Friday of last week. The fine was allegedly issued on July 16 by the Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection after an investigation determined that Amazon’s processing of personal data violated the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Amazon stated that the authorities’ conclusion was incorrect and that it planned to defend itself “vigorously.” The fine is the largest ever issued for a data protection violation since the passage of the regulation.
The Security and Exchange Commission offered no further details into the incident, however, it is clear that Amazon was sued by a European consumer group due to claims that the company was collecting personal data for ad targeting without permission. This marks the latest case of US tech firms being hit with violations of the somewhat recent and landmark GDPR. Last year, French authorities fined Amazon 35 million euros for failing to follow new laws on browser cookies that track users’ online movements. Meanwhile, Google received a fine of 100 million euros for similar violations and Facebook is under investigation in Ireland.
Read More: Amazon Fined 746 Mn Euros in Luxembourg Over Data Privacy
