TikTok, Shein and Xiaomi accused of illegally transferring data of EU citizens to China
Austrian human rights organization Noyb filed a complaint against TikTok, Shein, Xiaomi and three other Chinese companies, accusing them of illegally transferring user data from the EU to China. About this informs Reuters.
This is the first time Noyb, known for its lawsuits against US tech giants such as Apple, Alphabet and Meta, has filed complaints against Chinese companies. The organization has filed six complaints in Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Austria, demanding a halt to data transfers to China and fines that could reach 4% of the companies’ global revenue.
As Noyb points out, TikTok, Shein, Xiaomi, as well as the AliExpress platform directly admit to the transfer of data of European users to China, relying on transparent reports and other documents. At the same time, Temu and the WeChat messenger, owned by Tencent, are transmitting data to unspecified “third countries”, possibly including China.
A representative of Xiaomi said that the company is studying the allegations and is ready to cooperate with regulators if necessary. Other companies have not yet commented on the situation. According to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the transfer of data outside the EU is allowed only if the receiving country provides an adequate level of information protection.
