We know that big tech companies collect personal data and treat users like commodities to be bought and sold. Despite regulatory guidance and growing awareness among the general population, these companies still have the upper hand.
Laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union (EU) were designed to restore a sense of control to users by enforcing transparency, access, and accountability. But implementation has been slow and non-compliance is now the norm.
Last week, three popular Chinese tech platforms, TikTok, AliExpress and WeChat, were accused of serious GDPR violations. The complaints come from noyb, a Vienna-based group focused on combating privacy violations and enforcing data protection laws in Europe.
noyb officially filed three complaints with the data protection authorities (DPAs) of Belgium, Greece, and the Netherlands, with each complaint targeting one of the three aforementioned Chinese apps.
TikTok is the subject of the complaint in Greece, AliExpress in Belgium and WeChat in the Netherlands. All three are accused of failing to properly respond to users' requests for access to their personal data, a right guaranteed by the GDPR.
Anonymous users who had requested access to their personal data from these companies faced obstructionist tactics. TikTok provided incomplete and confusing information, AliExpress sent corrupted files that could only be opened once, and WeChat ignored the requests altogether.
Cleanthi Sardeli, data protection lawyer at noyb, said that:
“The GDPR makes it clear that companies must provide their users with specific information about the data they process for them. The fact that they receive a lot of requests does not mean they can withhold information.”
The three companies are accused of violating Articles 12 and 15 of the GDPR. Article 12 requires companies to respond to data access requests in a transparent, easily accessible and timely manner. Article 15 gives users the right to obtain a copy of their personal data and detailed information about how it is processed.
The noyb complaint alleges that TikTok, AliExpress and WeChat failed to meet these obligations by providing incomplete, illegible or no data. The group asked the Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) to issue a ruling on this and also proposed the imposition of administrative fines to discourage similar violations in the future.
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
