Austrian advocacy group Noyb filed a privacy complaint on Thursday against six Chinese companies, including TikTok, Shein, and Xiaomi, claiming they unlawfully send European Union user data to China.
The group is seeking fines of up to 4% of each company’s global revenue and has filed six complaints in four European countries to suspend data transfers.
Noyb stated that TikTok, Shein, Xiaomi, and Alibaba’s AliExpress admit to transferring EU user data to China, while Temu and Tencent’s WeChat transfer data to unspecified “third countries,” which Noyb believes is likely China.
Under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), data transfers outside the EU are only allowed if the receiving country provides equivalent data protection. Noyb has previously filed complaints against U.S. firms, leading to fines and investigations.
Chinese firms, including ByteDance-owned TikTok, are facing scrutiny from regulators in various countries. TikTok is set to shut its app for U.S. users on Sunday if a federal ban comes into effect.
The European Commission is also investigating TikTok for potential failures in limiting election interference, including in Romania’s recent presidential election.
