France fines Amazon $35 million for ‘excessively intrusive’ monitoring of warehouse staff

PARIS (AP) — France’s privacy watchdog has fined Amazon’s French warehouse business $35 million for using an “excessively intrusive system” to monitor worker performance and activity. The regulator said Tuesday that the system allowed managers at Amazon France Logistique to track employees so closely that it resulted in multiple breaches of the European Union’s stringent privacy rules. Amazon said it strongly disagreed with what it called factually incorrect conclusions and indicated it might file an appeal. It says the system is used to track packages and ensure the safety of warehouse operations. The regulator said Amazon’s system puts workers under under “close surveillance” and “continuous pressure.”