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What prompted France to fine Amazon USD 34 million over concerns of 'excessive' employee surveillance?
France's data protection agency, known as CNIL, has imposed a hefty fine of 32 million euros (approximately $34.9 million) on Amazon's French warehouses unit, Amazon France Logistique.
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France's data protection agency, CNIL, slaps Amazon with a hefty $34 million fine
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Amazon France Logistique monitored staff using scanners triggering inactivity over 10 minutes
In a landmark step, France's data protection agency, CNIL, slapped a large fine of 32 million euros (roughly $34.9 million) on Amazon's French warehouses unit, Amazon France Logistique. The fine is in reaction to what CNIL called an excessively intrusive surveillance system used by the e-commerce giant to monitor the performance of its workforce as per NDTV.
The intricate web of surveillance
Amazon France Logistique apparently tracked its personnel, mainly through data gathered from scanners used by package handlers. According to CNIL, these scanners were set to inform management if there was more than 10 minutes of idleness or when processing shipments took longer than intended. Notably, the system examined the rate at which staff scanned objects, with a particular emphasis on identifying if an article was processed too fast in less than 1.25 seconds.
CNIL highlighted one surveillance tactic, the deployment of stow machine guns to track scanning speed. These tools were created to verify that personnel followed safety guidelines and did adequate damage inspections before products were cleared for transportation. The continual inspection put a lot of strain on workers, forcing them to justify their absences and even track the time it took to enter the warehouse and start working. 
GDPR violation and unprecedented fine
The CNIL determined that Amazon's surveillance practices violated the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires firms to get consent before using personal information. The 32 million euro fine, equivalent to around 3% of Amazon France Logistique's annual sales, is defined by CNIL as nearly unprecedented and comes close to the regulatory body's maximum penalty of 4% of revenue.
CNIL stated that staff were not fully informed about the monitoring operations and that data was only maintained for 31 days. Amazon's representative responded by rejecting the conclusions, noting that the business regarded them factually incorrect and retained the right to appeal. Amazon maintained that such surveillance systems were necessary to ensure the security, quality, and efficiency of their operations.
Changes and adaptations in the wake of the fine
Amazon acknowledged the CNIL's concerns and stated plans to resolve the issues mentioned. In reaction to the results, the company promised to turn off the ability of stow machine guns to indicate handling speeds. Furthermore, the idle time alerts, which previously informed management after 10 minutes of inactivity, will be increased to 30 minutes. Amazon underlined that the goal of quantifying idle time was not to control employees but to quickly analyze and correct any irregularities in the supply chain.
France's large penalties against Amazon highlight the rising attention and concerns about employee surveillance practices, particularly in light of developing data privacy legislation. As companies strive to strike a difficult balance between productivity and privacy rights, this case shows regulatory involvement in response to perceived excesses in workplace surveillance. It sparks a larger discussion on the ethical use of technology for employee surveillance, as well as the importance of open communication with employees about such activities.
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