Since May 25, 2018, technology companies operating in the European Union (EU) must comply with greater requirements in privacy matter. On that date, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, a law that established new responsibilities and a framework of sanctions for violators.
In recent years we have seen large fines appear on the scene under the aforementioned regulations. Goal was reached by a penalty of 1,200 million euros and Amazon by another of 764 million euros. Now it is Netflix’s turn, which could be forced to pay 4.75 million euros, a much lower sum than other technology companies.
Netflix did not clearly inform what it did with its users’ data
It’s no secret that the online platforms we use every day collect data. What is allowed when we accept their terms of service, although it is not always clear What data of ours are they storing? and for what purpose. Are they collecting our email? Payment details? Telephone number? Usage statistics?
The examples are numerous and vary according to the platform. In the case of Netflix, according to the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA), the streaming giant did not provide its users with sufficient information about what it did with its users’ personal data between 2018 and 2020, thus violating the European GDPR.
A DPA investigation carried out in 2019 laid the foundation for the American company to receive a sanction. This week, five years after that episode, the sanction has finally been made official. As we noted above, Netflix will have to pay 4.75 million euros to this European regulator for its infringement.
“Such a company, with a turnover of billions and millions of customers around the world, has to adequately explain to its customers how it handles their personal data,” said DPA president Aleid Wolfsen. “That should be very clear. Especially if the client asks about this. And that was not in order,” he added.
The DPA has given details about the non-compliance of the platform. They say that it was not sufficiently clear about the purposes and legal basis of the data collection and so on, as well as what data it shared with other parties, why did he do ithow long it kept them and how it guaranteed their security if they were shared outside the EU.
It should be noted that the agency has indicated that Netflix has updated its privacy statement, which has allowed it to “improve its provision of information.” In any case, the American firm does not seem willing to give up without a fight. According to TechCrunch, he has rejected the sanction and is in a position to initiate an appeal.
Images | Shutter Speed | Markus Spiske
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