TikTok, 5 different Chinese language corporations hit by EU privateness complaints

By Supantha Mukherjee and Foo Yun Chee

STOCKHOLM/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – TikTok, Shein, Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF) and three different Chinese language corporations had been named in a privateness criticism filed on Thursday by Austrian advocacy group Noyb, which alleged the corporations had been unlawfully sending European Union person knowledge to China.

Noyb is understood for submitting complaints towards American corporations comparable to Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Meta (NASDAQ:META), resulting in a number of investigations and billions of {dollars} in fines.

Vienna-based Noyb (None Of Your Enterprise) stated this was its first criticism towards Chinese language corporations.

Noyb has filed six complaints in Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Austria searching for to droop knowledge transfers to China and is looking for fines that may attain as much as 4% of a agency’s international income.

Noyb stated Alibaba (NYSE:BABA)’s e-commerce web site AliExpress, retailer Shein, TikTok and telephone maker Xiaomi admit to sending Europeans’ private knowledge to China, citing transparency stories and different paperwork, whereas retailer Temu and Tencent’s messenger app WeChat switch knowledge to undisclosed “third international locations”, seemingly China.

The Chinese language authorities “has by no means and can by no means” ask enterprises or people to gather or present knowledge info and intelligence positioned in international international locations for the Chinese language authorities in a way that violates native legal guidelines, its international ministry stated on Friday.

Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated at a daily information briefing that China attaches nice significance to and protects knowledge privateness and safety in accordance with the legislation.

A Xiaomi spokesperson stated the corporate was analyzing the allegations and would totally cooperate with authorities to resolve the matter in the event that they method the corporate because of this criticism.

Different corporations didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

Below the European Union’s Basic Knowledge Safety Regulation (GDPR) privateness regime, knowledge transfers exterior the EU are solely allowed if the vacation spot nation does not undermine the safety of information.

“On condition that China is an authoritarian surveillance state, it’s crystal clear that China does not provide the identical degree of information safety because the EU,” stated Kleanthi Sardeli, a knowledge safety lawyer at Noyb. “Transferring Europeans’ private knowledge is clearly illegal – and have to be terminated instantly.”

Chinese language corporations, notably ByteDance-owned TikTok, have been dealing with off with regulators in varied international locations. TikTok is planning to close its app for U.S. customers from Sunday, when a federal ban on the social media app is because of come into impact.

The European Fee can also be investigating TikTok over its suspected failure to restrict election interference, notably within the Romanian presidential vote in November.