CNIL fines retailer Fnac Darty 7 million euros for AI tracking

The French data protection regulator CNIL has fined electronics retailer Fnac Darty 7 million euros. The reason was illegal user tracking without consent for training recommendation algorithms and displaying targeted advertising.

The investigation found that the company collected user data in violation of privacy rules. The information obtained was used to configure machine learning systems responsible for personalized product recommendations on the retailer's website.

The lawsuit against the company was initiated by the organization noyb, which specializes in digital rights protection. This precedent demonstrates the tightening control by European authorities over the legality of collecting datasets for training commercial algorithms.