AFP Paris
Paris
Updated Tuesday, January 23, 2024-08:44
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Amazon France Logistique (AFL) has been fined this Tuesday with 32 million euros by the National Commission for Informatics and Liberties (CNIL) for "its excessively intrusive system of
monitoring the activity and performance of its employees
", according to a statement from the organization.
For the CNIL, the data collected by the subsidiary of the American online distribution giant, through scanners used by warehouse employees to process packages, constitute a "system for monitoring activity and excessive performance."
These scanners record idle times of more than ten minutes or the rate at which packets are processed "down to the second", notes the CNIL.
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The French privacy watchdog sanctioned AFL under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and imposed a
fine equivalent to around 3% of the French company's turnover.
This penalty is "practically unprecedented in percentage of turnover," he told Afp given that the maximum fine is 4%.
Three indicators recorded by the scanners and transmitted to those responsible were of particular concern to the inspection body.
The
stow machine gun
, which signals when an item is scanned "too fast", in less than 1.25 seconds, and the "idle time", which indicates a period of scanner inactivity greater than ten minutes.
Another indicator measures the time elapsed "between the moment the employee registers at the center entrance" and the moment he scans his first package, the CNIL explains to AFP.
The authority considers that this
system leads employees to justify any interruption
, even of "three or four minutes", in the scanner's activity, which "subjects them to continuous pressure."
"We totally disagree with the CNIL's conclusions, which are factually incorrect, and
we reserve the right to appeal
," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.
The group has two months to present an appeal to the Council of State.
Several thousand employees are affected
by these indicators, notes the CNIL, which opened a procedure in 2019 following press articles and employee complaints.
The CNIL also criticized Amazon France Logistique for not adequately informing its employees about its video surveillance system. It told AFP that it "reserves the right to carry out new checks."