The CNIL, France’s data privacy watchdog, fined Alphabet’s Google a record 150 million euros ($169 million) on Thursday for making it difficult for internet users to refuse web trackers known as cookies. The watchdog said that it discovered that the websites facebook.com, google.fr, and youtube.com did not allow easy refusal of cookies, citing Google’s video-streaming platform.
The two companies had three months to comply with the CNIL’s directives or face a penalty of 100,000 euros per day of delay. Google and Facebook are also obliged to provide French internet users with simpler tools for refusing cookies, in order to ensure their consent. While Google and Facebook provided a virtual button to allow immediate acceptance of cookies, there was no counterpart to instantly refuse them, CNIL 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 light of this decision,’ a Google spokesperson said. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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