Société du Figaro – €50,000 Fine (France, 2021)

This decision follows a complaint received by the French DPA (CNIL) on 16 August 2018 from a user of the Société du Figaro's website, a publisher, in which was reported the installation of cookies on their terminal without their consent and prior to any action. The DPA therefore conducted five online inspections of the website between 14 January 2020 and 1 June 2021. During the first two operations, the DPA carried out a verification on: * The nature of the cookies; * The purpose of each of the cookie; * The information provided to users; * The system put in place so that the user can refuse the installation when browsing on the home page of the website. Then, the DPA also verified the consequences for the user of navigating to another page of the website after having refused the installation of cookies on arrival on the website. First, the DPA stated that the scope of responsibility of the controller regarding cookies on its website exists in the form of an obligation of means to ensure that its partners do not, via its website, install cookies in violation of the applicable law. In addition, the DPA found out that cookies were installed on a user's terminal as soon as they arrived on the website's home page, before they could express their choice, and even if they had expressed a refusal in the event of navigation to another page of the site. Consequently, the DPA held that the controller had breached its obligations regarding consent and information about cookies on its website by: * allowing cookies to be installed on users' terminals before any action on their part; * making their refusal ineffective; * failing to ensure that its partners do not emit, via its site, cookies that do not comply with the applicable regulations; * failing to take the necessary steps to put an end to the breach observed. The DPA fined the controller €50,000.