Data flows in China: Civil rights activists act against Temu, TikTok and co
Chinese companies are transferring data to their home country, criticizes the data protection organization Noyb. There, authorities could gain access to it.
(Image: Bild erstellt mit KI in Bing Designer durch heise online / dmk)
The Austrian data protection organization Noyb has filed complaints against well-known Chinese companies in several EU countries. It accuses TikTok, AliExpress, Shein, Temu, WeChat and Xioami of unlawful data transfers to China. EU data is not protected there from access by Chinese authorities – this is a violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), argues Noyb. The complaints were filed in Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Greece.
Data transfers to countries outside the European Union are certainly possible in exceptional cases. In these cases, however, companies must meet certain requirements for the protection of personal data that meet European standards. In the view of data protection activists from Austria, however, this contradicts the laws in China. The data protection law there does not restrict access by authorities in any way. Transparency reports would prove that such official access does take place in practice.
Company asked for information in advance
Before the complaint, Noyb had sent requests for information to the companies to find out whether data had been sent to China. However, the companies had not provided sufficient information on this, although they themselves state in their guidelines that data is transferred to third countries.
The complainants are demanding that the companies bring their data processing in line with European data protection regulations. It is also suggested that penalties be imposed. These can amount to up to four percent of annual global turnover.
(mki)