The following is a Google machine translation of a CNIL press release:
The restricted formation, body of the CNIL responsible for pronouncing sanctions, noted, following checks, that the websites facebook.com, google.fr and youtube.com offer a button to immediately accept cookies. On the other hand, they do not set up an equivalent solution (button or other) to allow the Internet user to easily refuse the deposit of these cookies. Several clicks are necessary to refuse all cookies, against just one to accept them.
The restricted committee considered that this process infringes the freedom of consent: since, on the internet, the user expects to be able to consult a site quickly, the fact of not being able to refuse cookies as simply as possible. can accept them skews his choice in favor of consent. This constitutes a violation of article 82 of the Data Protection Act.
As a result of this failure, the restricted formation of the CNIL pronounced:
- two fines totaling 150 million euros against GOOGLE (90 million euros for the company GOOGLE LLC and 60 million euros for the company GOOGLE IRELAND LIMITED);
- a fine of 60 million euros against the company FACEBOOK IRELAND LIMITED .
In addition to the fines, the restricted committee ordered companies to make available to Internet users located in France, within 3 months, a means to refuse cookies as simply as the existing one to accept them, in order to guarantee freedom of their consent. Otherwise, the companies will each have to pay a fine of 100,000 euros per day of delay.
These two decisions are part of the overall compliance strategy initiated by the CNIL for more than 2 years with French and foreign players publishing high-traffic sites and having practices contrary to the legislation on cookies. .
Since March 31, 2021, the date of the end of the period granted to sites and mobile applications to comply with the new rules on tracers, the CNIL has adopted nearly 100 corrective measures ( formal notices and sanctions ) in connection with with non-compliance with the legislation on cookies.