Facebook, Google Face EUR 150-Million French Fine for Cookie Breaches

France's data privacy watchdog CNIL said on Thursday it had fined Alphabet's Google a record EUR 150 million (roughly Rs. 1,265 crore) for making it difficult for Internet users to refuse online trackers known as cookies.

Meta Platforms' Facebook was also fined EUR 60 million (roughly Rs. 505 crore) for the same reason, the CNIL said.

"The CNIL has found that the facebook.com, google.fr, and youtube.com websites do not allow to refuse cookies as easily as it is to accept them", the watchdog said in a statement, also citing Google's video-streaming platform.

The authority said the two companies had three months to comply with its orders or face an extra penalty payment of EUR 100,000 (roughly Rs. 85 crore) per day of delay.

These include the obligation for Google and Facebook to provide French Internet users simpler tools for refusing cookies, in order to guarantee their consent.

The CNIL said that while Google and Facebook provided a virtual button to allow the immediate acceptance for cookies, there was no equivalent to refuse them as easily.

"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.

© Thomson Reuters 2022