“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 added. The GDPR has been in effect across the EU since 2018 and has made quick work of fining hundreds of companies for data privacy violations. “It is the targeted advertising system itself that our complaints intend to wipe out as a whole, and not a few occasional security breaches. This historic sanction strikes at the heart of the GAFAM predation system and should be applauded as such,” La Quadrature du Net said. “While the enthusiasm of 2018 began to leave us and we feared that the legal fight against GAFAM had become impossible, it is from Luxembourg that our initial hope returns to us. The model of economic domination based on the exploitation of our privacy and our free will is deeply illegitimate and contrary to all the values that our democratic societies claim to defend. We will therefore continue to fight against this domination, with your help.” Kieran, CEO of privacy company Ethyca, added that the high amount of this fine suggests what privacy observers have noted over the last eighteen months, which is that the hands-off approach during COVID-19 was fading and an era of more aggressive enforcement measures was beginning. Regulator actions are reflecting the “maturation of the law and the expectation that privacy is now ’table stakes’ for business operations in Europe. “Transformation of the underlying problem – the data practices – is what’s necessary: compelling the organizations to correct their practices, better respect users’ data, and face enforced penalties for non-compliance,” Kieran said.
