French Data Protection Authority fines Google $122m and Amazon $42m
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CNIL
French Data Protection Authority – One of the most active Data Protection Authorities in the EU
ePrivacy Directive
has become known as the “cookie law” since its most notable effect was the proliferation of cookie consent pop-ups after it was passed.
GDPR
GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It's the core of Europe's digital privacy legislation.
€100 million Google Fine
€35 million Amazon Fine
The size of the fines issued by CNIL to Amazon and Google
Both Amazon and Google are to be handed multimillion fines for violations of EU data protection rules by the French data protection authority CNIL.
Both fines are similar in nature, relating to cookie consent and the vagueness of the policy wording used by both Amazon and Google. Both Amazon and Google put forward the argument that the French Data Authority was not the competent supervisory authority, with Amazon arguing it was under the supervision of the CNPD, the Luxembourg data protection authority and Google, the DPC, the Irish data protection authority.
Google Fine
The €100 million fine for Google is made up of two distinct fines:
-
€60 million against Google LLC
-
€40 million against Google Ireland
The fines relate to an investigation by CNIL on 16 March 2020, when they conducted an online investigation on google.fr and that cookies were automatically placed on visitors devices, without the required consent.
CNIL also took issue with the vague wording of the cookie policy, as it did not allow the user to precisely understand some of the purposes of the cookies, in particular the advertising purposes.
Amazon Fine
The Amazon fine relates to investigations undertaken by CNIL from 12 December 2019 to 19 May 2020. CNIL’s investigation showed that when a user visited the Amazon.fr website, more than 40 cookies were automatically placed on visitor’s device, without the required consent.
Several of these cookies were used for advertising purposes, which under GDPR would require the user’s consent.
It was also critical of the cookie policy utilized by Amazon, which contained a general and approximate description of the purposes of the set of cookies. In particular it took issue with the looseness of the wording which made it difficult for a user to understand the type of content and advertisements likely to be personalized according to their online behaviour. In addition, Amazon did not highlight the means available to the user to refuse the registration of cookies.
Amazon also argued that the procedure followed by CNIL violated its right to a fair trial as set out in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Right and Fundamental Freedoms.
European cybersecurity research hub to be based in Bucharest
Bucharest has been chosen by the European Council this week, as the location for the European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre (ECCC). It is to be the EU cybersecurity research hub and will be tasked with funding new cybersecurity research, providing financial support and technical assistance to cybersecurity start-ups and SMEs, and promoting cyber- security standards.
The new hub is part of the EU's focus on shoring up its digital market. Under the new Digital Europe program, the EU plans to allocate more than €2 billion ($2.42 billion) to cybersecurity from the EU budget for years 2021-2027.
Facebook has set aside €365.4 million for EU data protection fines
Facebook has set aside €302 million ($365.4 million) for fines related to investigations by EU data protection authorities, according to its latest financial statement in Ireland.
The Irish Data Protection Commission, which is Facebook's lead EU authority because the company has its European base in Dublin, currently has eight ongoing investigations into the company, according to the regulator's June report. Facebook-owned Instagram is subject to a separate probe.
According to a Facebook Ireland's financial statement published December 7, the company has estimated those penalties to cost it between €154 million ($186 million) and €541 million ($655 million).
In November, Facebook made a provision of €77.5 million for a fine relating to WhatsApp, which unlike Instagram, is a separate legal entity in Ireland and therefore has its own set of financial reporting.
Ireland’s privacy regulator is expected to announce its preliminary findings in at least one Facebook- related investigation — most likely tied to WhatsApp — by the end of the year, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the matter.
The case is about an Irish Data Protection Commissioner investigation into whether people’s personal information was mishandled when transferred between WhatsApp and its parent company. A preliminary ruling in that case is due this month.
UK & EU funding in focus this week
This week saw a number of large funding rounds, with the Dutch based online auction site, Catawiki raising over $181m and Voi, the Swedish escooter company raising $160m.
German companies raised the most funding, at just under $210m, with Munich leading the way with five companies there receiving a total of
|
Company |
Founded |
Sector |
City |
Country |
Funding $ Million |
Series |
|
Voi Technology |
2018 |
Transport |
Stockholm |
Sweden |
160 |
C |
|
Catawiki |
2008 |
Online Auctions |
Amsterdam |
Netherlands |
181.5 |
|
|
Zephr |
2018 |
SaaS |
London |
United Kingdom |
8 |
A |
|
Pockit |
2014 |
Fintech |
London |
United Kingdom |
19.9 |
B |
|
Trint |
2014 |
Communications |
London |
United Kingdom |
6.8 |
A |
|
Ziglu |
2018 |
Cryptocurrency App |
London |
United Kingdom |
7.3 |
CF |
|
MEL Science |
2015 |
Edtech |
London |
United Kingdom |
14 |
B |
|
Endomag |
2007 |
Medtech |
Cambridge |
United Kingdom |
20.3 |
D |
|
Aerospace |
2018 |
Satellites |
Munich |
Germany |
90.8 |
B |
|
Idnow |
2014 |
Business Applications |
Munich |
Germany |
18.2 |
|
|
Greencom |
2011 |
Energy |
Munich |
Germany |
14.5 |
C |
|
Finn.auto |
2019 |
Transport |
Munich |
Germany |
24.2 |
A |
|
Wellabe |
2018 |
Healthcare |
Munich |
Germany |
3.63 |
A |
|
vivenu |
2018 |
Service Platform |
Düsseldorf |
Germany |
15.2 |
A |
|
Wonder |
2019 |
Video conferencing |
Berlin |
Germany |
13.3 |
Seed |
|
Getsafe |
2015 |
Insurtech |
Heidelberg |
Germany |
30 |
B |
|
Ultimate.ai |
2015 |
Ai Platform |
Helsinki |
Finland |
19.8 |
A |
|
Jeff |
2015 |
Service App |
València |
Spain |
20.9 |
B |
|
Asistensi |
2019 |
Insurtech |
Madrid |
Spain |
3 |
Seed |
|
Luko |
2016 |
Insurtech |
Paris |
France |
60.5 |
B |
|
Pigment |
2019 |
Business Applications |
Paris |
France |
25.9 |
A |
|
Ankorstore |
2019 |
B2B Marketplace |
Paris |
France |
29.9 |
A |
|
Kayentis |
2004 |
Medtech |
Meylan |
France |
8.5 |
|
|
Contractbook |
2015 |
Legaltech |
Copenhagen |
Denmark |
9.4 |
A |
|
Modularbank |
2018 |
Fintech |
Tallinn |
Estonia |
4.8 |
Seed |
QuickView: Google Ireland
Data taken from filed financial statements for 2019
Google's EU headquarters is based in Ireland. The Irish operations are focused on Google's online advertising business , overseeing consumer services in Europe.
2003 Google Ireland Limited Set up
HQ in Silicon Docks (the Irish equivalent of Silicon Valley), Dublin, IrelandCity Focus: Mu
4,131 Total Staff Number in 2019
Headcount increase 9.7%
€108,000 ($130,680) average salary at Google Ireland
Revenue in 2019: €45.7 billion ($55.3 billion)
USA + EU Tech City Index – November 2020
With most of Europe back in lockdown, the number of people working from home has remained elevated. In terms of rental costs, as in a number of US cities, rents in Europe have seen a drop. With some parts of London seeing a 20% drop in rents for apartments in the month.
|
City |
Start Up Ecosystem Ranking |
Office Activity – Covid |
Co-working Desk Cost |
Rental Cost – 2bd Apt USD |
|
London |
2 [tied with NYC] |
-51% |
$344 |
3640 |
|
New York |
2 [tied with London] |
-55% |
$355 |
3850 |
|
Silicon Valley |
1 |
-65% |
$511 |
4199 |
|
Amsterdam |
12 |
-34% |
$214 |
2700 |
|
Boston |
5 |
-23% |
$326 |
3062 |
|
Seattle |
9 |
-54% |
$305 |
2685 |
|
Berlin |
16 |
-29% |
$227 |
2100 |
|
Austin, TX |
19 |
-17% |
$316 |
2033 |
|
Dublin |
36 |
-48% |
$312 |
2500 |
USA + EU Salary Comparisons
|
|
Silicon Valley |
New York |
Austin TX |
London |
Berlin |
Dublin |
|
Data Analytics Engineer |
$167,231 |
135,908 |
$113,989 |
$95,832 |
$90,000 |
$90,497 |
|
Dev + Software Engineer |
$178,097 |
$140,422 |
$127,195 |
$104,280 |
$87,298 |
$90,844 |
