Italy watchdog bans Amazon logistics unit from using staff personal data

By Elvira Pollina

MILAN, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Italy's privacy watchdog on Tuesday ordered a local unit of e-commerce giant Amazon AMZN.O to stop using the personal information of more than 1,800 employees at a warehouse north-east of Rome.

The unit, Amazon Italia Logistica, must also stop processing any data collected through four video-surveillance cameras installed near bathrooms and break areas of the Passo Corese facility, the authority said in a statement.

"We are examining with the utmost attention the measure issued by the Italian Data Protection Authority," Amazon said.

"The protection of personal data, particularly that of our employees, represents an absolute priority for us," it added, vowing to "promptly review our processes and procedures" if "any non-compliance issues emerge from (our) analysis."

INFORMATION ON SICK RELATIVES, STRIKE ACTIVITIES

The information Amazon collected and shared with several managers included details on medical conditions, trade union and strike activities, and sensitive details on family life such as sick relatives or marriage break-ups, the authority said.

The regulator said this was in breach of rules that bar employers from handling data that was not relevant to assessing professional skills.

The data-use ban, issued after inspections at the Passo Corese site two weeks ago, covers information collected during employment and retained for up to 10 years, the watchdog said, adding it was investigating other possible violations.