European Nonprofit Files Complaints Against Amazon, Netflix and Others Over Alleged GDPR Violations
Austrian data privacy nonprofit Noyb said it has filed formal complaints against a number of streaming services, including Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Spotify over alleged GDPR violations.
January 18, 2019 at 06:34 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Corporate Counsel
An Austrian privacy nonprofit has brought formal complaints against eight companies, including Amazon.com and Netflix, over alleged General Data Protection Regulation violations.
Data privacy organization Noyb announced Friday that it filed a series of complaints with the Austrian Data Protection Authority against major tech companies who it alleged are not in compliance with GDPR's Article 15, which outlines European Union residents' “right to access” their personal data from processors.
“A test by noyb shows structural violations of most streaming services,” the organization said in a press release. “In more than 10 test cases noyb was able to identify violations of Article 15 GDPR in many shapes and forms by companies like Amazon, Apple, DAZN, Spotify or Netflix. noyb filed 10 strategic complaints against 8 companies today.”
Noyb said it tested eight streaming services: Amazon Prime, Apple Music, DAZN, Flimmit, Netflix, SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube and found none in total compliance with GDPR Article 15.
Smaller services such as DAZN and SoundCloud didn't respond to Noyb's requests to retrieve test users' personal data, according to the organization. All of the other services responded, but Noyb said they did not provide adequate background information on data storage and its sources and recipients.
“Many services set up automated systems to respond to access requests, but they often don't even remotely provide the data that every user has a right to. In most cases, users only got the raw data, but, for example, no information about who this data was shared with,” said Max Schrems, the director of Noyb, in Friday's release. “This leads to structural violations of users' rights, as these systems are built to withhold the relevant information.”
Noyb said it filed a total of 10 complaints on behalf of 10 users Friday. GDPR's maximum fine for violations can be as high as 4 percent of global revenue or 20 million euros ($22.8 million), whichever is higher.
Apple Music, DAZN, Flimmit, SoundCloud and YouTube did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An Amazon representative said in a statement that protecting customer privacy is “always a top priority and has been built into our services for years.”
“We comply with any request from a data subject to provide access to the personal data that Amazon is processing,” the representative said.
Representatives from Netflix and Spotify offered similar statements.
“Privacy and data protection are core to Netflix, and we comply with the GDPR. We have not yet formally received the complaint,” said a representative from the Los Gatos, California-based company.
In an email Friday, Spotify's representative said the company “takes data privacy and our obligations to users extremely seriously. We are committed to complying with all relevant national and international laws and regulations, including GDPR, with which we believe we are fully compliant.”
Read More:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllHow Kramer Levin's Patent Trial Team Approaches Teaching Tech to Juries
Litigators of the Week: Kirkland Fends Off Antitrust Claims for Thomson Reuters Against AI-Backed Start-Up
'Corporate Lawyers Who Happen to Litigate': A Closer Look at a Recent Securities Litigation Hot Streak at Freshfields
Litigators of the Week: Robbins Geller Lands $490M Securities Settlement in Case Over Apple's Prospects in China
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250