At the end of 2022, the National Commission for Computing and Freedoms (Cnil) was not idle, distributing several fines to technology companies. After Apple and TikTok, it’s Voodoo’s turn to see its sanction made public by the French digital policeman. The latter imposed a fine of 3 million euros on the French unicorn specializing in mobile video games.
The Cnil accuses the company of having used the technical identifier of Apple devices to track the online activity of its users, even though the latter had clearly indicated that they did not wish to be tracked. In this way, Voodoo is able to track the browsing habits of users of its applications, in particular based on data such as the model of the device, the battery level or the available memory space, and thus to offer personalized advertisements.
Three months to settle
In addition to the financial penalty, a three-month ultimatum was given to the company to comply with the European Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), in particular by establishing a mechanism to collect free and informed by the user in order to obtain the technical identifier of his smartphone. If Voodoo does not comply with these injunctions within the time limit, the CNIL will increase the initial sanction, with a penalty of €20,000 per day.
The French unicorn, which claims more than 300 million monthly users and over 6 billion downloads, was aiming for revenue of $600 million in 2022, up from 425 million in 2021. This year, it plans to launch its own cryptocurrency, usable in blockchain-based video games.