French regulators fined Google and Facebook 210 million euros ($237 million) over their use of "cookies", authorities revealed on Thursday.
The fine imposed on Google was a record by France's National Commission for Information Technology and Freedom (CNIL), beating a previous cookie-related fine of 100 million euros against the company in December 2020.
On the other hand, Facebook was handed a 60-million-euro fine.
"CNIL has determined that the sites facebook.com, google.fr and (Google-owned) youtube.com do not allow users to refuse the use of cookies as simply as to accept them," the regulatory body said.
CNIL added that the two platforms have three months to adapt their practices, after which France will impose fines of 100,000 euros per day.
In the same vein, Google told AFP it would change its practices following the ruling. "In accordance with the expectations of internet users... we are committed to implementing new changes, as well as to working actively with CNIL in response to its decision," the US firm said in a statement.
Cookies are little packets of data that are set up on a user's computer when they visit a website, allowing web browsers to save information about their session.
They are extremely valuable for Google and Facebook as ways to personalize advertising which is their primary source of revenue.
Follow the latest news on Google News
