Amazon loses court fight against record $812 million Luxembourg privacy fine

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Amazon lost its fight against a record 746 million euro ($812.4 million) fine handed out by Luxembourg's privacy regulator four years ago as a court sided with the watchdog, according to a statement on the regulator's website.

The Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) said the country's administrative court dismissed Amazon's appeal in a March 18 ruling.

The watchdog had penalised Amazon for processing personal data in breach of EU privacy rules known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Europe has taken a tough line against such violations, with its landmark law setting the benchmark for other countries.

CNPD said its decision, which also included measures for Amazon to fix the issue, will remain suspended during the appeal period.

Amazon said it was considering appealing the court ruling.

It said the CNPD's decision "imposed an unprecedented fine based on subjective interpretations of the law about which they had not previously published any interpretive guidance".

($1 = 0.9183 euros)

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)