France’s privacy watchdog, CNIL, has wielded its authority, slapping Amazon’s French warehouse business with a hefty 32 million euro fine ($35 million) for what it deemed an “excessively intrusive system” used to monitor worker performance and activity.
The contentious system, according to CNIL, allowed managers at Amazon France Logistique to surveil employees so closely that it ran afoul of the European Union’s strict privacy rules outlined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In response, Amazon has expressed strong disagreement with CNIL’s conclusions, labeling them as “factually incorrect,” and has stated its intention to file an appeal. The e-commerce giant defended the use of its warehouse management systems as industry standard, essential for ensuring operational safety, quality, and efficiency, as well as for meeting customer expectations regarding inventory management and package processing.
The CNIL’s investigation centered on the use of handheld barcode scanners by Amazon employees to track packages at various stages within the warehouse, from placing them in crates to preparing them for delivery. This level of monitoring, CNIL argued, went beyond traditional methods and subjected workers to “close surveillance” and “continuous pressure.”
Of particular concern to the watchdog was the precision of the scanning system, which it described as a “stow machine gun.” This device, CNIL noted, could track employees’ actions to the “nearest second,” raising issues of intrusive monitoring and an overemphasis on productivity. The scanner’s ability to flag errors if items were scanned too quickly, in less than 1.25 seconds, drew criticism for potentially creating undue pressure on workers to maintain an unsustainable pace.
Additionally, the CNIL criticized Amazon for the extended retention of employee data generated by the scanners, arguing that the company did not need to store “every detail” for an extended period. Instead, the watchdog suggested that real-time data and weekly statistics would suffice, highlighting the need for a more balanced approach to data retention and privacy.
As the fine marks a significant clash between Amazon’s operational practices and EU privacy regulations, it underscores the growing tension between technological efficiency and the protection of workers’ privacy rights in an increasingly digitized workplace. The outcome of Amazon’s appeal and its subsequent actions will likely be closely watched, serving as a barometer for how privacy concerns are addressed in the realm of modern labor practices.
(Source: Associated Press | CNN)
