French data watchdog fines Google and Amazon

France's CNIL data privacy regulator said it had fined two Google units a total of €100 million ($121 million) and an Amazon subsidiary €35 million for breaching rules on online trackers.

According to the statement issued by the CNIL, Google committed two breaches of the French Data Protection Act, including using cookies without obtaining prior consent and not providing enough information to users.

The CNIL said it had also fined US e-commerce giant Amazon for breaching the same rules.

The regulator said the fines were "for having placed advertising cookies on the computers of users… without obtaining prior consent and without providing adequate information."

When a user visited a page on the site, "a large number of cookies used for advertising purposes was automatically placed on his or her computer, before any action required on his or her part," the statement said.