From CNET: Amazon quietly took a big hit earlier this month, as the company was issued the largest ever fine for data protection violations in Europe. On July 16, Luxembourg's data protection authority told Amazon it would have to pay a penalty of 746 million euros ($888 million) for violating the EU's strict data protection laws, known as the GDPR.
The fine came from Luxembourg's CNPD following an investigation into the way Amazon processes customer data, and was revealed in a regulatory filing by the company on Friday, according to Bloomberg. The CNPD hasn't commented publicly on its decision and didn't immediately respond to request for comment.
Its investigation into Amazon was based on a 2018 complaint by French privacy group La Quadrature du Net. The group says it represents the interests of thousands of Europeans to ensure their data isn't used by big tech companies to manipulate their behavior for political or commercial purposes. It didn't immediately respond to request for comment.
Amazon is under growing scrutiny both at home and abroad over the way it uses customer data. Regulators are concerned that not only could the company's data processing policies violate privacy protections for consumers while they're shopping online, they might give the company an advantage over competitors operating within its marketplace. Meanwhile, Amazon is keen for customers to know that their data is safe, and unlike many GDPR fines, this one hasn't been issued due to a data breach.
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