CONFERENCE NOW LIVE: Threat Detection & Incident Response (TDIR) Summit - Join the Event In-Progress
Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Audits

Privacy Activists Target Google Over French ‘Spam’ Emails

Google is breaking EU law by sending users of its email service Gmail direct advertising messages, activists said in a complaint sent to French regulators on Wednesday.

It is the latest in a long line of complaints filed by the activist group NOYB (None of Your Business), which has fought the tech giant for years on data privacy.

Google is breaking EU law by sending users of its email service Gmail direct advertising messages, activists said in a complaint sent to French regulators on Wednesday.

It is the latest in a long line of complaints filed by the activist group NOYB (None of Your Business), which has fought the tech giant for years on data privacy.

The French data regulator CNIL has been among the most active in Europe, doling out huge fines against Google and Facebook in particular.

The activist group provided screenshots to CNIL that showed marketing messages at the top of a user’s inbox.

The messages were marked with a green box and the word “annonce”, French for advert.

The group said under EU law, that kind of marketing was allowed only if users had consented.

“Spam is a commercial email sent without consent. And it is illegal,” said NOYB lawyer Romain Robert in a statement.

“Spam does not become legal just because it is generated by the email provider.”

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

CNIL confirmed to AFP it had received the complaint.

Google told AFP it had no comment as yet.

Google and Facebook’s parent company Meta are at the centre of a long-running battle over their data-collection practices in Europe.

The French regulator fined Google 150 million euros ($150 million) and Meta 60 million euros last December over their failure to provide users with an easy opt-out for cookies, files that track users around the web.

The two firms also face scrutiny over their practice of sending the personal data of EU residents to servers in the United States. 

NOYB has filed dozens of cases with regulators across the bloc arguing that the practice is illegal.

Related: France Fines Google, Amazon 135 Mn Euros

Related: France Hits Google With 50 Million Euro Data Consent Fine

Related: France Closes ‘Cookies’ Case Against Facebook

Written By

AFP 2023

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join this event as we dive into threat hunting tools and frameworks, and explore value of threat intelligence data in the defender’s security stack.

Register

Learn how integrating BAS and Automated Penetration Testing empowers security teams to quickly identify and validate threats, enabling prompt response and remediation.

Register

People on the Move

PAM provider Keeper Security has appointed Shane Barney as its Chief Information Security Officer.

SpecterOps has appointed Tim Bender as CFO, Pat Sheridan as CRO, and Bryce Hein as CMO.

CISA has officially announced the appointment of Madhu Gottumukkala as its new deputy director.

More People On The Move

Expert Insights

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest cybersecurity news, threats, and expert insights. Unsubscribe at any time.