French data protection authority CNIL has issued a fine against
company Assistance Centre d'Appel related to the use of
biometric technology in the workplace. During an audit at the end
of 2016, CNIL found that the company was using fingerprint
timeclocks to track employee hours without prior authorization from
CNIL as required by the French Data Protection Act. In France, an
employer may not use biometric data to monitor employees' hours
absent prior approval from CNIL, which is only granted in
exceptional circumstances. During the 2016 audit, CNIL also found
that the company was recording employee phone calls without
informing the employees or other call participants, and lacked
adequate workstation security. While the company has since ceased
the use of fingerprint timeclocks, a 2018 audit by CNIL revealed
that the company had failed to properly inform telephone call
participants about call recording, and that workstations remained
insecure. The fine was set at €
