Amazon slammed with record-breaking fines over privacy concerns

The EU has ruled that Amazon may be infringing its 300 million users’ right to privacy

The European Union is fining Amazon $888 million for violating its data protection rules.

CNPD is the EU’s lead privacy watchdog. It accused Amazon of “processing personal data in violation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation”.

The online retail giant lashed back, saying they findings are “without merit”.

Amazon says there has been “no data breach”

“There has been no data breach, and no customer data has been exposed to any third party,” Amazon said in a statement.

“These facts are undisputed. We strongly disagree with the CNPD’s ruling.”

Data and privacy concerns

This comes after years of criticism for Amazon over data privacy concerns. The company says it collects data to ‘improve the customer experience’, but some regulators remain concerned.

Lawmakers say that this data trove may give the online retail giant an unfair advantage in the market.

EU privacy watchdog cracks down on US tech giants

Amazon isn’t the only US-based tech giant facing these criticisms. This comes after an ongoing EU investigation into American tech giants.

The investigation is also looking into Microsoft. Particularly, the use of Microsoft 360 to transfer data.