Amazon.com Inc has been hit with an $886.6 million (746 million euro) European Union fine for processing personal data in violation of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the e-commerce giant said on Friday.

       The Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) imposed the fine on Amazon Europe Core in a July 16 decision, the company disclosed in a regulatory filing. (https://bit.ly/2TLIZQ8)

       "We believe the CNPD's decision to be without merit and intend to defend ourselves vigorously in this matter," Amazon said in the filing.

       GDPR requires companies to seek people's consent before using their personal data or face steep fines.

       The Wall Street Journal had reported in June that the company could be fined more than $425 million under the European Union's privacy law, citing people familiar with the matter.

       ($1 = 0.8415 euros)

       (Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni and Shailesh Kuber)

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