None of your business – European Center for Digital Rights ('NOYB') announced, on 17 August 2020, that it had filed 101 complaints against EU companies that continue to send website visitor data to Google LLC and Facebook, Inc. one month after the Court Justice of the European Union's ('CJEU') judgment in Data Protection Commissioner v. Facebook Ireland Limited, Maximillian Schrems (C-311/18) ('the Schrems II Case'). In particular, NOYB stated that an analysis of the HTML source code of major EU webpages had shown that even after the decision, many companies continue to use Google Analytics or Facebook Connect even though both companies fall under US surveillance laws. Moreover, NOYB outline
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EU: NOYB files 101 complaints against EU companies for transferring data to Facebook and Google post-Schrems II
August 18, 2020
Summary
The European Center for Digital Rights (NOYB) filed 101 complaints against EU companies for illegally transferring data to Google and Facebook after the Schrems II Case ruling by the CJEU, which invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and questioned the adequacy of Standard Contractual Clauses due to U.S. surveillance laws. Despite the ruling, an analysis by NOYB found that many EU companies continue to use Google Analytics and Facebook Connect, potentially violating EU fundamental rights. The complaints were filed in 30 EU and EEA member states, and NOYB also brought complaints against Google and Facebook in the US. The GDPR mandates that the competent data protection authorities must examine these complaints, which could lead to prohibition notices or fines, and NOYB plans to increase pressure on companies to review their data transfer practices.