Amazon fined $35 million for over-surveilling warehouse workers

France’s data privacy watchdog, the CNIL, has slapped a €32 million fine on Amazon’s logistics subsidiary in France, which is roughly $35 million in today’s exchange rate. The CNIL argues that Amazon France Logistique has set up a “surveillance system” that is deemed “excessively intrusive.”

Specifically, the CNIL is honing in on the barcode scanner in the warehouse and Amazon’s data collection methods tied to this connected device. Here’s how it works: when processing an order, an Amazon worker grabs a product, scans it with the connected scanner, and places it in a crate for shipment to the customer. The scanner is also used by employees to log new items in the warehouse.

“Indicators tracking the inactivity time of employees’ scanners were put in place. The CNIL ruled that it was illegal to set up a system measuring work interruptions with such accuracy, potentially requiring employees to justify every break or interruption,” the French regulator wrote.

The CNIL considers both “idle time,” marking a period when the scanner is inactive for 10 minutes or more, and “latency under 10 minutes,” noting interruptions lasting between one and 10 minutes, as unlawful in terms of data processing. The CNIL is citing the GDPR as the legal grounds for their case.

Amazon has introduced a “stow machine gun” indicator to avoid errors. It raises a red flag if you scan an item within 1.25 seconds of the previous one, likely to prevent double-scanning blunders. However, the CNIL sees this as a GDPR problem as well. Once more, it’s essential to note that the CNIL is citing certain missteps in data processing. This isn’t a labor issue; it’s a case about improper and excessive monitoring of warehouse workers.

As per the French regulator, Amazon utilizes this performance data to evaluate the overall performance of its warehouse workers on a weekly basis.The company’s initial argument is that Amazon isn’t the sole player in the logistics game employing a connected warehouse management system. Specifically, they argue that it aids in load balancing across multiple warehouses and teams.

Digging deeper, Amazon explains that the “stow machine gun” indicator is designed for workers to check products for damage before storage. The company plans to deactivate this indicator in its system. Regarding the “idle time” metric, Amazon intends to raise the threshold limit. Moving forward, the company will activate this indicator after 30 minutes instead of the previous 10-minute mark.