DM Monitoring
PARIS: France’s data privacy watchdog has handed out its biggest ever fine of 100 million euros ($121 million) to Alphabet’s Google for breaching the country’s rules on online advertising trackers (cookies).
The CNIL said on Thursday it had also fined e-commerce giant Amazon 35 million euros for breaking the same rules,
The regulator found the companies’ French websites didn’t seek the prior consent of visitors before advertising cookies – small pieces of data stored while navigating on the Web – were saved on computers, it said in a statement.
Google and Amazon also failed to provide clear information to internet users about how the firms intended to make use of such online trackers and how visitors to their French websites could refuse any use of the cookies, the watchdog said.
The CNIL rejected the companies’ arguments that it had no right to impose the sanctions because their respective European headquarters are in Ireland and Luxembourg – two countries perceived by some data privacy advocacy groups as being lenient toward Silicon Valley companies.
The CNIL said Google’s fine had to be paid for the most part by its U.S. entity Google LLC (60 million euros) and the rest by EU-based Google Ireland Limited (40 million).
Amazon’s fine has to be paid by its Luxembourg-based entity. The CNIL said the companies had three months to change the information banners. If they fail to do so, they will face an additional fine of 100,000 euros per day until they comply.
The financial penalty against Google is the biggest ever issued by the CNIL, a spokesman for the watchdog said.
The previous record fine of 50 million euros also targeted the U.S. tech giant for breaching EU data privacy rules.
“We stand by our record of providing upfront information and clear controls, strong internal data governance, secure infrastructure, and above all, helpful products,” Google said in a statement. “Today’s decision under French ePrivacy laws overlooks these efforts and doesn’t account for the fact that French rules and regulatory guidance are uncertain and constantly evolving.”
Amazon said separately it disagreed with CNIL’s decision.
“We continuously update our privacy practices to ensure that we meet the evolving needs and expectations of customers and regulators and fully comply with all applicable laws in every country in which we operate,” it said.
Singapore signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom on Thursday (Dec 10) to ensure that companies from both countries continue to enjoy the same benefits that they are receiving under the Republic’s FTA with the European Union.
The agreement will cover more than £17 billion (S$30.4 billion) of current bilateral trade in goods and services.
The two countries also agreed to assess the modules of a UK-Singapore digital economy agreement (DEA), with a view to launching negotiations on the DEA in 2021. They also committed to start talks on and conclude an investment protection agreement within two and four years respectively of the FTA’s entry into force. The FTA was signed in Singapore by Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss.
Speaking at the event, Mr Chan noted that the UK is Singapore’s third and second-largest trading partner for goods and services respectively, as well as its top investment destination in Europe. In turn, Singapore is the UK’s largest trade and investment partner in South-east Asia.
As the first FTA between the UK and an Asean member state, it represents the UK’s deepening engagement of the region, and provides British businesses a platform to access opportunities in the region through Singapore, said Mr Chan.
“In these volatile times, the UKSFTA provides Singapore and UK businesses the certainty they need to find and access new growth opportunities,” he added. The deal’s immediate and tangible benefits include tariff elimination for 84 per cent of all tariff lines for Singapore exports to the UK upon the UKSFTA’s entry into force, with virtually all remaining tariffs eliminated by Nov 2024 – the same timeline under Singapore’s FTA with the EU (EUSFTA), said Mr Chan. It will also enhance market access for Asian food products made in Singapore, such as har gow (prawn dumplings) and sambal ikan bilis (spicy crispy anchovies), he added. “We hope this will allow our UK friends to try more of our distinctive Asian food products,” said Mr Chan.
Ms Truss, in an interview with The Straits Times, said the FTA will come into force on Jan 1 next year, which is when the UK leaves the transition period for its exit (Brexit) from the EU.
“We want to secure a Canada-style deal with the EU, but if we are not able to secure that we will trade with the EU on Australian style terms. Neither of those, two arrangements will affect the deal with Singapore, the deal with Singapore is done,” she said in the interview. The UKSFTA was signed in Singapore by Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing (right) and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Elizabeth Truss. PHOTO: MTI The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in a statement issued after the signing of the FTA said the benefits of the UK-Singapore FTA include tariff elimination for goods trade, and increased access to respective services and government procurement markets. The FTA will provide Singapore and UK companies with certainty and clarity in trading arrangements between both countries by reducing non-tariff barriers in at least four major sectors – electronics, motor vehicles and vehicle parts, pharmaceutical products and medical devices, and renewable energy generation.
