France: National Commission on Informatics and Liberty fined Google EUR 325 million for displaying advertisements between Gmail emails without user consent and illegally placing advertising cookies

On 1 September 2025, the National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) fined Google EUR 325 million for displaying advertisements between Gmail users’ emails without consent and for placing cookies during the creation of Google accounts without valid consent from French users. The case originated from a 2022 complaint by privacy group NOYB and subsequent inspections into Gmail and Google account creation processes. The CNIL found that Gmail displayed promotional emails in the “Promotions” and “Social” tabs in a way that amounted to direct marketing, which required prior user consent under French communications law. It also concluded that Google had made it harder for users to refuse advertising cookies than to accept them, and that users were not properly informed that access to services depended on such cookies, making their consent invalid under the French Data Protection Act. As a result, Google LLC was fined EUR 200 million and Google Ireland Limited EUR 125 million. The companies were also ordered to stop inserting advertisements between emails without prior consent and to ensure valid cookie consent within six months or face additional daily penalties.