Amazon (AMZN) faces a record-breaking £637 million ($887 million) EU privacy fines even though the tech giant was based in the tax haven in Luxembourg. The ramifications of this fine have sent a reverberating shockwave in California.
Tech giants have long gone un-monitored but all that has now changed, now the EU will push to enforce other anti-trust and anticompetitive laws on the big six.
Amazons stock price fell by almost 8% following the announcement on Friday closing at 3,327.59 USD−272.33
These EU privacy fines were imposed after the European Union data privacy regulator said the e-commerce giant had violated multiple elements of the EU’s signature privacy law, known as GDPR, in an advertising-related decision.
The fine was imposed on July 16 and disclosed Friday in a financial filing. It is the largest in the law’s three-year history, followed by Google’s 2019 fine of €50 million.
The fine marks the latest example of European regulators zeroing in on Big Tech. Officials in Europe and the UK have increasingly been scrutinizing the business practices of companies including Amazon, Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOG) amid allegations they have harmed competition and abused consumer privacy.
Luxembourg tax haven no longer safe from EU privacy fines
Regulators said Amazon’s processing of personal data didn’t comply with GDPR requirements, and the company acknowledged it has been ordered to change its business practices.
Amazon said the regulatory decision was “without merit” and added that it plans to “defend ourselves vigorously in this matter.”
“The decision relating to how we show customers relevant advertising relies on subjective and untested interpretations of European privacy law, and the proposed fine is entirely out of proportion with even that interpretation,” the company said.
The penalty for the alleged violation was imposed by data regulators in Luxembourg, where Amazon’s European headquarters are located.
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