Kathmandu, January 9
Internet giant Google and social media company Facebook have been fined Rs 28 billion in the European country of France.
French regulators have fined Facebook and Google 237 million, or 210 million. Of that, Google was fined 150 million euros and Facebook 60 million euros. The two US companies have been heavily fined for exiting online tracking options.
France’s privacy watchdog CNIL has blamed Facebook and Google for its investigation. Google and Facebook have been accused of making it easier for users to accept cookies with just one button, but for not providing such a simple way to reject cookies and forcing them to click multiple times. He claims that this has made it difficult for internet users to avoid online trackers.
Along with the fine, French regulators Facebook and Google have given three months to
improve the process. Failure to implement the simple process of rejecting cookies within three months will result in an additional penalty of one million euros per day.
Remember that Ayashbhak is a code and data packet targeted at Internet users for a variety of reasons, including digital advertising.
Remember that European governments have had stricter rules than the United States regarding the interests and privacy of Internet users. Due to which websites need to get permission to monitor user activity.
According to CNIL, Facebook and Google’s French homepage and YouTube request users to accept cookies. This means that users are not free to give their consent and are forced to. The regulator said such actions violated French data protection laws.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said it was reviewing the fines imposed by France and was working with government agencies on the issue. Google also said that it has a sense of responsibility and will cooperate with CNIL in this regard.
By Karuna Thapa
