According to a report by Politico, the French tech regulator Commission Nationale de I’informatique et Des Libertés (CNIL) will be fining Google and Facebook a total of $235 million.
The reason for the fine stems from the claim that technology companies are failing to make it easy for French users to reject technology that tracks cookies.
In 2020, Google was fined 100 million euros by CNIL for violating Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act, which centers on depositing cookies without a user’s consent.
After an investigation by google.fr in March 2020, CNIL found that the cookies “were automatically placed on his or her computer, without any action required on his or her part.”
CNIL will fine Google £150 million and Facebook £60 million. CNIL will impose fines of 100,000 euros per day on the two companies if they do not resolve the problem within three months of the decision being issued.
Politico reported that the decision applies to Google, YouTube and all Facebook platforms in France, and a Meta spokesperson assured the company was reviewing the decision and would “remain committed to working with relevant authorities.”
“Our cookie consent controls provide people with greater control over their data, including a new settings menu on Facebook and Instagram where people can revisit and manage their decisions at any time, and we continue to develop and improve these controls,” Meta’s spokesperson said.