Amazon unit fined $46M by French regulators for ‘intrusive’ staff surveillance

GLOBAL NEWS

French regulator CNIL said on Tuesday it had fined Amazon France Logistique 32 million euros (CAD$48 million) for what the CNIL said was an “excessively intrusive” surveillance system set up to monitor the performance of staff.

The CNIL said indicators tracking the inactivity time of employees’ scanners had been put in place, and that such a system was illegal. It also said a system set up to measure the speed at which items were scanned was also “excessive.”

“More generally, the CNIL considered it was excessive to keep all the data collected by the system, as well as the resulting statistical indicators, for all employees and temporary workers, for a period of 31 days,” said the CNIL.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company disagrees with CNIL’s fine and reserves the right to appeal.