VIENNA: Online privacy campaigners have lodged new complaints against TikTok and two other Chinese-owned companies for allegedly failing to comply with data access requests.
Austria-based advocacy group Noyb (None of Your Business) previously filed complaints in January, accusing the firms of unlawfully transferring Europeans’ personal data to China.
While Shein, Temu, and Xiaomi provided additional information, TikTok, AliExpress, and WeChat reportedly continued violating the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Noyb stated, “All three tech companies have failed to comply with access requests... This makes it impossible for European users to exercise their fundamental right to privacy.”
The group filed fresh complaints with data protection authorities in Greece (TikTok), Belgium (AliExpress), and the Netherlands (WeChat), demanding compliance and fines. According to Noyb, TikTok only supplied partial data “in an unstructured form that was impossible to understand.”
TikTok did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment. The platform was fined €530 million ($610 million) in May by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission for transferring personal data to China, though TikTok maintains this data was only accessed remotely.
Western governments have long scrutinized TikTok over concerns that China could exploit user data for espionage or propaganda. Noyb, known for targeting US tech giants like Meta and Google, remarked, “Chinese apps are even worse than US providers.”
The group has actively pursued GDPR enforcement since 2018. Last week, Beijing denied allegations of instructing firms to illegally collect user data amid an EU probe into its operations. - AFP
