Privacy Battle: EU Takes on Chinese Tech Giants

Austrian advocacy group Noyb has filed privacy complaints against Chinese firms including TikTok, Shein, and Xiaomi, accusing them of unlawfully transferring EU user data to China. Noyb aims to halt these data transfers and impose fines. The accusations highlight growing scrutiny on Chinese companies' data practices worldwide.

Austrian advocacy organization Noyb has taken a stand against several Chinese tech giants, alleging that companies like TikTok, Shein, and Xiaomi are illegally sending European Union user data back to China.

This marks Noyb's first legal action against Chinese corporations, as the group has previously made headlines targeting American conglomerates such as Apple, Alphabet, and Meta. The group is seeking to suspend these data transfers while eyeing fines as steep as 4% of a company's global revenue.

Under the EU's stringent GDPR privacy laws, transferring data outside the region is permissible only if the recipient country maintains an equivalent level of data protection. Noyb's complaint spotlights China's inadequate privacy standards, a hot-button issue as global regulatory bodies intensify scrutiny on Chinese companies' data handling practices.

(With inputs from agencies.)