On Thursday, January 16, the Austrian data privacy organization “None of your business” (NOYB) filed privacy complaints against six Chinese companies – TikTok, Shein, Xiaomi, WeChat, Temu, and AliExpress. They accused these companies of illegally providing EU users’ data to the Chinese government.
According to a press release issued by NOYB based in Vienna, this is the first time they have lodged complaints against Chinese companies. NOYB has submitted complaints in Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria, demanding regulatory bodies to stop these companies from transmitting data to China (Chinese government) and seeking fines of up to 4% of the companies’ global revenue.
NOYB stated that e-commerce website AliExpress under Alibaba, retailer Shein, TikTok, and phone manufacturer Xiaomi admitted to transferring personal data of European users to China. Meanwhile, retailer Temu and Tencent’s communication app WeChat transferred data to undisclosed “third countries”, likely including China.
Under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy system, data can only be transferred from the EU to other countries if it can be ensured that the receiving country does not lower the level of data protection.
NOYB’s data protection lawyer, Kleanthi Sardeli, said, “Considering China is an authoritarian surveillance state, it is evident that China cannot provide data protection equivalent to the EU. Transferring personal data of Europeans to China is clearly illegal and must be terminated immediately.”
In the United States, Congress believes that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has dangerous close ties to the Chinese government, stealing personal data of American users, threatening national security. ByteDance must divest TikTok by January 19 or face being banned across the U.S.
Officials in France, Austria, the Netherlands, and Norway prohibit the use of TikTok on work phones. In the U.S. and Canada, federal employees have been banned from installing TikTok on work devices since early 2023, with many states enacting similar regulations. Governments of Australia, New Zealand, and other countries also ban employees from using TikTok on work phones.
Last month, due to TikTok’s negative impact on teenagers, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced a ban on TikTok for at least one year starting from early 2025.
Lawyer Sardeli stated, “Chinese companies have no choice but to comply with government requests for data access. This means that as soon as European users’ data is sent abroad, there are risks. Regulators must act quickly to protect the fundamental rights of those involved.”