The French authorities today announced a fine of 60 million euros against the US company Microsoft for the way it manages the authorization of software tags ('cookies').

Cookies are software tags that are stored on the computer via the browser, retaining information related to the user's preferences and should not include personal data.

France's National Commission for Information Technology explained in a statement that the US computer giant has not set up a system for rejecting cookies and that, according to the body, it is as easy to apply as the accept function - via the bing.com (Microsoft) website.

The French body explained that, following complaints, it found on visiting the website (bing.com) that cookies, especially advertising tags, are activated without the user's consent.

The Commission said that the amount of the fine was based on the number of people affected, as well as the benefits that the company obtains indirectly through the advertising projected from the data collected by the cookies.

In addition to the fine, according to Lusa, Microsoft is obliged to include on the bing.com page, for three months, a system that "really" warns French users to accept cookies before accessing their electronic devices.

If the function is not enforced, the company could face an additional fine of 60,000 euros per day, adds the CNIL.