France slaps Google with €325M fine for violating cookie regulations

The French data protection authority, CNIL, has fined Google €325 million ($378 million) for violating cookie regulations and for displaying ads between Gmail users’ emails without their consent, according to CNIL. The regulator said investigations carried out between 2022 and 2023 found that Gmail’s “Promotions” and “Social” tab advertising breached the French CPCE, specifically Article L. 34-5.

It highlighted that Google had not informed users who created new accounts that cookies for advertising could be placed to access its services, infringing the French Data Protection Act, Article 82. CNIL noted that the breach affected more than 74 million accounts, with 53 million individuals seeing the involved ads in their Gmail tabs.

The authority also pointed to previous fines against Google for cookie-related breaches in 2020 and 2021, and cited further penalties imposed in 2022 and beyond, illustrating ongoing vigilance over cookie consent and “cookie walls.”