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.
