TikTok, Temu, and Other Companies Face Complaints Over Alleged GDPR Violations in the EU.
The Austrian privacy advocacy organization NOYB has filed its first complaints under the GDPR against Chinese companies.
An Austrian privacy advocacy organization known by its acronym NOYB has filed its first complaints under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) against various Chinese companies. The accused companies include TikTok, Xiaomi, Shein, AliExpress, Temu, and WeChat, which are alleged to have illegally shared information of European users with entities in China.
NOYB is seeking the suspension of data transfers to China and also requests the imposition of fines that could reach up to four percent of the global revenues of each involved company. The group, whose name translates to "none of your business," is led by activist Max Schrems, known for his campaigns against Facebook.
The GDPR regulates information privacy in the European Union and states that data transfers outside the EU are only permitted if the receiving country ensures adequate protection for the data. NOYB has labeled China as an "authoritarian surveillance state" and argues that data transfers to this country should not be allowed.
NOYB has pointed out that, according to the privacy policies of AliExpress, SHEIN, TikTok, and Xiaomi, these companies carry out data transfers to China. Meanwhile, Temu and WeChat mention transfers to "third countries," which, according to the corporate structure of these platforms, likely includes China. Previously, NOYB had also filed complaints against large U.S. tech companies, such as Apple and Meta, for potential GDPR violations.