France hits Google with $381 million fine for consumer protection failures

FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is seen on the Google house at CES 2024, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 10, 2024. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) -France's data protection authority said on Wednesday it had fined Alphabet's Google 325 million euros ($381 million) for improperly displaying ads to Gmail users and using cookies, both without Google account users' consent.

The Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) also gave Google six months to ensure ads are no longer displayed between emails in Gmail users' inboxes without prior consent, and that users give valid consent to the creation of a Google account for the placement of ad trackers.