France Fines Google, Shein Millions Over Cookie Rules (1)

French regulators ordered Alphabet Inc.’s Google to pay nearly $379 million in fines and the Singapore-based online marketplace Shein Group Ltd. to pay $175 million for failing to comply with rules on managing cookies.

France’s privacy watchdog, known as CNIL, said the penalties were issued as part of its ongoing effort to crack down on businesses that violate the nation’s rules on tracking user data for advertising purposes — such as depositing cookies that trace users’ behavior without their consent or imposing “cookie walls” that give users no choice but to accept tracers to access a service.

While Google ...