France on Friday upheld its decision of imposing a $111 million fine on Google for the ‘Cookie’ breach. The decision was made by the country’s supreme administrative court Conseil d’Etat.
The court in its statement said that the fine, which was imposed by France’s National Commission for Information Technology and Freedom (CNIL) data protection authority was proportionate. “The Conseil d’Etat therefore rejects Google’s demand to annul the sanction,” it said.
Earlier in January, France slapped massive fines of USD 237 million on Facebook and Google over their use of ‘cookies.’
Cookies and the data used to track users online.
The fine imposed on Google was a record by CNIL, beating a previous cookie-related fine of 100 million euros against the company in December 2020.
Also read | Facebook, Google slapped with huge fines in France over ‘cookies’
At that time Google told AFP that it would change its practices following the ruling.
“In accordance with the expectations of internet users… we are committed to implementing new changes, as well as to working actively with CNIL in response to its decision,” the US firm said in a statement.
Cookies are little packets of data that are set up on a user’s computer when they visit a website, allowing web browsers to save information about their session.
They are highly valuable for Google and Facebook as ways to personalise advertising, which is their primary source of revenue.
(With inputs from agencies)
