Popular Chinese apps like TikTok, AliExpress and WeChat are once again embroiled in controversies. Austrian privacy advocacy group noyb has filed a serious complaint against these three apps in the european union (EU). These apps are accused of stealing personal data of users and violating EU data privacy standards.
No data download facility, allegation of privacy violation
The complaint states that TikTok, AliExpress and WeChat do not give their users any option to access or download their personal data, while it is required under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). According to GDPR, any user has the right to access and download their data.
Chinese apps also accused of sending data to China
noyb has claimed that these Chinese companies are illegally transferring users' data to China, which may put users' privacy at risk. The group has filed a complaint against a total of 6 Chinese apps and also said that many of these apps are collecting personal data of users without their consent.
After legal action, ban can also be imposed in Europe
If these allegations are found to be true in the investigation, then the EU can ban these apps. This decision can affect millions of users of european countries who use these apps. Earlier also noyb has filed complaints against American tech companies like apple and google in privacy matters.
These apps are banned in india since 2020
It is worth noting that many Chinese apps including TikTok, AliExpress, WeChat have been banned in india since june 2020. The government of india had banned more than 59 Chinese apps keeping in mind national security and data privacy. Since then these apps are not available in India.
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