France's data privacy watchdog, CNIL, has levied a substantial fine of €32 million (equivalent to $35 million in US dollars) on Amazon France Logistique,  the Amazon subsidiary that deals with logistics. 

The penalty stems from the organization's use of what CNIL deems as an "overly intrusive" employee surveillance system.

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Data Privacy Watchdog Details

The CNIL's investigation revealed that the surveillance system, imposed on warehouse workers, meticulously measured work interruptions. And it potentially forced employees to account for every break or disruption. 

The system used a mandatory barcode scanner, a tool commonly used for order processing, to track all the moves and the inactivity of employees.

 According to CNIL, the software flagged periods of downtime as low as one minute, a level of accuracy that the watchdog considered illegal.

While the focus is on data processing rather than labor issues, the CNIL emphasized the excessive intrusion of the implemented system. 

Citing Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the organization declared the processing as in violation of privacy regulations. 

The data collected was used by Amazon to assess employee performance on a weekly basis, and the company retained this information for both regular employees and temporary workers.

Amazon Responds

In response to the fine, Amazon issued a statement expressing strong disagreement with CNIL's conclusions. And said the CNIL report was factually incorrect. 

The company hinted at a possible appeal against the decision. Amazon argued that its logistics industry counterparts also employ similar connected warehouse systems, emphasizing the role of such systems in balancing workload among teams for safe and efficient order processing. 

The statement said that they were working on a potential extension of the system's threshold limit, which offers employees a longer timeframe before receiving alerts.

As the e-commerce giant grapples with legal challenges in Europe, it faces increasing scrutiny on the other side of the Atlantic. 

Amazon has been found responsible for over half of warehouse worker injuries in 2022 and has faced accusations of unfair labor practices. The logistics division's high employee turnover rate is reportedly costing Amazon $8 billion annually.