By Emmanuel Kwada
TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media giant, is under fire again as Austria-based privacy group Noyb (None of Your Business) filed fresh complaints against the company on Thursday, accusing it of violating the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The complaints, also targeting AliExpress and WeChat, claim the companies failed to comply with data access requests, obstructing European users’ rights to understand how their personal data is processed.
Noyb, a prominent advocate for online privacy, previously filed complaints in January against TikTok and five other Chinese-owned firms, alleging unlawful data transfers to China. While Shein, Temu, and Xiaomi provided additional information, Noyb says TikTok, AliExpress, and WeChat “continued to violate” GDPR.
Specifically, TikTok allegedly provided only partial, unstructured data that was “impossible to understand.” The new complaints were lodged with data protection authorities in Greece (TikTok), Belgium (AliExpress), and the Netherlands (WeChat), urging fines and compliance.
The new complaints were lodged with data protection authorities in Greece (TikTok), Belgium (AliExpress), and the Netherlands (WeChat), urging fines and compliance
This latest scrutiny intensifies concerns about TikTok’s data practices, which have long drawn suspicion from Western governments over fears that China could exploit user data for espionage or propaganda. Just last week, Beijing denied allegations of illegally collecting personal information following an investigation into TikTok’s European operations.
In May, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, TikTok’s lead EU regulator, fined the company €530 million ($610 million) for unauthorized data transfers to China, though TikTok claimed the data was only accessed remotely.
Noyb, which has a track record of challenging tech giants like Meta and Google, criticized Chinese apps as “even worse” than their U.S. counterparts in respecting user privacy. TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The ongoing clash underscores the growing tension between global tech platforms and stringent EU privacy laws, with Noyb’s actions likely to fuel further regulatory pressure on Chinese tech firms operating in Europe.
AFP
