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French regulator fines Google and Shein over cookie breaches

Move against Google risks provoking ire of President Trump who has threatened huge tariffs against countries that impose “discriminatory” regulations on American tech companies.

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France's data protection authority slapped U.S. tech giant Google and Chinese online fast-fashion retailer Shein with massive fines for breaching laws on internet cookies, reports Politico.

The CNIL fined Google a record €325 million "for displaying advertisements between Gmail users' emails without their consent and for placing cookies when creating Google accounts, without valid consent of French users," the watchdog said in a statement announcing the move late Wednesday.

The Irish subsidiary of Shein was fined €150 million for placing "cookies without the consent of internet users," "not respecting their choices" and "not informing them properly," the CNIL said.

The Google fine, in particular, risks drawing the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has ramped up pressure on the EU after striking a lopsided trade deal in July. 

Trump threatened to impose severe tariffs on countries that implement "discriminatory" regulations or taxes that target U.S. tech firms.

Read more of this report from Politico.