noyb win: French electronics retailer Fnac Darty fined €7 million

French data protection authority CNIL has fined electronics retailer Fnac Darty €7 million for tracking app users without their consent, following complaints filed by privacy group noyb in September 2023. The CNIL investigation, launched in March 2024, found that Fnac Darty placed a tracker that collected users' browsing history to generate product recommendations and train its recommendation algorithm without obtaining consent. The retailer also faces a daily penalty of €10,000 if it fails to comply with the decision. Noyb had filed complaints against three companies—Fnac Darty, real estate app SeLoger, and fitness app MyFitnessPal—for sharing users' personal data with third parties for analytics and targeted advertising without offering a consent option. Noyb data protection lawyer Lisa Steinfeld Leiser said the decision makes clear that personalized advertising requires consent and hopes it sets a precedent for similar cases. Watch for potential enforcement actions against SeLoger and MyFitnessPal and whether the ruling prompts broader changes in how European retailers handle app tracking.