General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
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Standards, Regulations & Compliance
Computing Giant Avoid 60,000 Euro Daily Fines from French Privacy Regulator
Microsoft Ireland executives can enjoy this view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris without having to worry about 60,000 euro daily fines from the French data protection authority. (Image: Shutterstock)
Microsoft Ireland revised its cookie policy for the Bing search engine in France after it received a reprimand from the country’s data protection agency for privacy violations.
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France’s Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertes – known as CNIL – in December imposed a fine of 60 million euros against the company for misleading cookie policies that it says made it difficult for Bing users to decline data collection. The agency noted at the time this feature violated the consent requirement under the French privacy law (see: France Fines Microsoft Ireland 60M Euros Over Bing Cookies).
The agency also gave the company three months to bring its cookie policy into compliance or face additional fines of 60,000 euros for each additional day. Specifically, Microsoft needed to obtain French Bing users’ consent to enable cookie used to combat advertising fraud.
On Friday, the regulator said Microsoft Ireland has adhered to its mandate with updated cookie policy.
“It appears from the response provided by the company on March 10 that it has made technical changes to ensure that the cookies placed on ‘bing. com’ in France,” the agency said. “The committee notes that the company indicates that it has implemented these changes since February 24, 2023.”
