Italy Bans Amazon From Using Staff Data

What The Authority Found

According to the watchdog, Amazon Italia Logistica collected and shared sensitive employee information with several managers. This included details about medical conditions, trade union and strike activities, as well as aspects of family life such as sick relatives or marital breakdowns.

The authority said such data was not relevant to assessing professional skills and therefore breached rules that limit what employers can process. The ban also applies to information gathered during employment and retained for up to 10 years.

Inspections at the Passo Corese site were carried out around two weeks ago.

Amazon’s Response

Amazon said it is carefully reviewing the measure issued by the Italian Data Protection Authority. The company stated that protecting personal data, particularly that of employees, is an absolute priority and that it will promptly review its processes if any non-compliance issues are identified.

Why This Matters For E-commerce Businesses

The case comes amid strict enforcement of GDPR rules across the EU. For e-commerce companies, this goes beyond HR compliance. Warehouse monitoring systems, employee tracking tools and internal reporting processes must be tightly aligned with data protection law.

Processing employee data that is not directly relevant to job performance can trigger bans and potential fines. In a sector where logistics relies heavily on operational data, this ruling sends a clear signal to businesses operating in the European market.