Amazon fined $886M by EU regulators

European regulators fined Amazon 746 million euros, roughly $886 million, over data breach violations, the company disclosed in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

The Seattle-based e-commerce giant was fined by the Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection (CNDP) earlier this month in a decision that claimed Amazon’s processing of personal data did not comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, according to the filing. 

Amazon pushed back on the regulator’s findings. 

“We believe the CNPD’s decision to be without merit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously in this matter,” the company said in the filing. 

The disclosure in the filing was revealed after Amazon reported its second quarter earnings for the year, with net sales increasing 27 percent year over year to $113 billion. The increase had slowed down compared to the company’s 41 percent year over year increase from the second quarter of 2020. 

In addition to the CNDP fine, Amazon is facing scrutiny from the EU, whose antitrust watchdog leveled charges against the company in November over its treatment of third-party sellers. 

In the U.S., Amazon and other tech giants are also facing scrutiny over their market power. The House Judiciary Committee advanced a package of bills to revamp antitrust law that targets the tech giants, although opposition on both sides of the aisle for the bipartisan proposals may stall a House vote on them. 

President Biden has also signaled a tough stance on Amazon and other tech giants through appointing Big Tech critics to key antitrust enforcement and advisory positions.