On Thursday, the French data privacy regulator CNIL announced that it had fined Alphabet's Google a record 150 million euros ($169 million) for making it difficult for internet users to opt-out of online trackers known as cookies.

The CNIL also penalized Meta Platforms' Facebook 60 million euros for the same reason.

Consent of Internet users for the use of cookies — tiny pieces of data that assist in creating targeted digital advertising campaigns — is a critical pillar of the European Union's data privacy regulation and a primary priority for the CNIL.

"Accepting cookies is a one-click process," explained Karin Kiefer, CNIL's head of data protection and sanctions. "It should be as simple to reject cookies as it is to accept them."

The watchdog stated that it discovered that the websites facebook.com, google.fr, and youtube.com did not allow for easy cookie refusal, citing Google's video-streaming infrastructure.

The CNIL stated that the two enterprises had three months to comply with its instructions or face an additional penalty of 100,000 euros each day of non-compliance.

These include the requirement for Google and Facebook to give more straightforward options for French internet users to refuse cookies to ensure their permission.

According to the CNIL, while Google and Facebook provided a virtual button for rapid acceptance of cookies, there was no counterpart for quickly declining them.

"People rely on us to protect and respect their right to privacy. We recognize our obligation to safeguard that trust and have committed to additional improvements and proactive collaboration with the CNIL in light of this ruling," a Google representative said.

A request for comment from Facebook was not immediately returned.

The CNIL's previous record fine of 100 million euros was likewise directed at Google in 2020.

The CNIL found at the time that Google's French websites did not get visitors' authorization before advertising cookies being saved on computers and failed to offer precise information about how it intended to use them.

Kiefer stated that the difficulties have subsequently been fixed.

The CNIL strengthened consent rights for ad trackers in 2020, requiring websites operating in France to maintain a log of internet users who refuse to accept cookies for at least six months.

Additionally, it stated that internet users should be able to readily revoke any initial cookie consent via a web link or icon available on all website pages.