France Fines Google $120M For Dropping Cookies Without Consent
On March 16, 2020, the CIL carried out an online check on the google.fr website which revealed:
- Just like Amazon, when an internet user went to this site, cookies were automatically placed on his computer, without action on his part. Several of these cookies served an advertising objective.
- When a user went to the google.fr page, an information banner was displayed at the foot of the page, bearing the following words “Reminder concerning Google’s confidentiality rules “ in front of which appeared two buttons entitled “Me call back later ”and“ Consult now ”. This banner did not provide the user with any information relating to cookies which had already been placed on his computer, as soon as he arrived on the site. This information was also not provided to him when he clicked on the “Consult now” button .
- When a user deactivated the personalization of ads on Google search using the mechanism made available to him from the “Consult now” button, one of the advertising cookies remained stored on his computer and continued to read information intended for the server to which it is attached.
As this type of cookies cannot be deposited without the user having expressed his consent, the regulator considered that two Google companies operating the site GOOGLE LLC and GOOGLE IRELAND LIMITED had not complied with the requirement provided for by article 82 of the Data Protection Act and the prior collection of the consent before the deposit of non-essential cookies.
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