Amazon’s French warehouse operations were fined 32 million euros (about $35 million) by France’s data protection authority, CNIL on Tuesday. The reason for the hefty penalty was attributed to an “excessively intrusive system” utilized in monitoring the performance and activities of its employees as indicated by the regulatory body.
As per CNIL, Amazon France Logistique utilized a monitoring mechanism that contravened the GDPR – the European Union’s stringent privacy regulations. Managers could keep track of their staff so accurately through this system that it resulted in numerous violations of personal privacy.
In response to the CNIL’s report, Amazon has strongly opposed their findings and declared that they reserve the right to appeal. The company defended its warehouse management systems by refuting any factual inaccuracies alleged by the regulatory authority. They emphasized that these mechanisms are common in this industry and crucial for maintaining safety standards, efficiency levels as well as quality of customer service delivery. Furthermore, Amazon underscored how essential such processes were for timely warehousing operations while meeting expectations outlined by customers.
The watchdog’s inquiry centered around the utilization of handheld barcode scanners by Amazon laborers. These gadgets have a purpose to trace packages in various phases within the warehouse, spanning from storage up until delivery preparation. Amazon defends its viewpoint that this system is crucial for carrying out business operations and accomplishing quality objectives; however, CNIL believes otherwise due to non-conformity with traditional worker observation approaches as it leads to heightened scrutiny over employees along with perpetual stress placed on them.
The CNIL brought attention to the “stow machine gun,” which is a scanner that meticulously tracks employee activity down to the second. It raises an alarm if objects are scanned too hastily, within 1.25 seconds or less. This intense level of surveillance goes beyond evaluating efficiency as it also monitors instances of ‘inactivity.’ According to EU privacy regulations, this type of system violates worker rights by mandating that they account for every pause or disruption with utmost accuracy and detail.
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The CNIL condemned Amazon for holding onto staff records beyond their required period. The organization noted that it was excessive to preserve all the minutiae from scanner data generated over a month, when weekly statistics and live information would be adequate.
