The commenting platform Disqus tracked users without their knowledge. Now the American company Zeta Global, which owns the platform, risks multi-million fines in Norway.
The Norwegian Data Protection Authority, Datatilsynet, announces that the fine may land at SEK 25 million after Disqus is deemed to be in breach of the GDPR Act.
According to the Data Inspectorate, Disqus has illegally tracked Norwegian Internet users on websites that use the comment platform. Collected data has since been shared with third parties for ad serving.
The Danish Data Protection Agency considers the intrusion to be serious and the level of the fine is set accordingly.
Disqus has been used on several major websites around the world.
Including Norwegian and Swedish news sites. In addition to being a commenting platform, Disqus is used to display ads to its users.
The company behind Disqus believes that they did not know that the GDPR law also applies in Norway. And that their actions have a legitimate interest, which according to the company means that they should not be fined.
Note that the fine has not been awarded until the company has the opportunity to comment until 31 May 2021. Thereafter, a final decision will be made by the Danish Data Protection Agency.
