French watchdog fines Amazon unit for snooping on employees



01/24/2024 5:22 AM


The local branch of the US company Amazon.com Inc. that handles warehouse management has been penalized €32 million by the French data privacy authority CNIL for "excessive intrusion" into the personal lives of its employees, writes MarketWatch.



rawpixel.com / U.S. Department of Agriculture
The regulator claims that the unit gathered information on worker productivity and idle time using package scanners.

According to the CNIL, the scanners recorded instances of goods being processed excessively rapidly (in less than 1.25 seconds) and downtime intervals of more than 10 minutes. Such a system, according to the watchdog, is excessive because it may have workers defend every disruption.

In addition, Amazon did not adequately inform staff and visitors about the video surveillance measures, which violates EU data protection laws, the regulator said.

The CNIL decided on the fine following inspections carried out after it published press reports on Amazon's warehouse practices and received several complaints from staff.

Amazon said it strongly disagrees with the French regulator and reserves the right to appeal its decision. In its opinion, the CNIL's conclusions are factually inaccurate.

source: marketwatch.com

 


More