Neowin News Feed for: Gdpr

Google Chrome is reportedly auto-installing a massive 4GB AI model without your consent

Paul Hill — Wed, 06 May 2026 05:42:01 +0000

Is your storage mysteriously vanishing? Chrome is forcing a massive AI model onto devices without notice. Discover the "dark patterns" behind the download. Read more...

EU just announced big changes to GDPR data protection with new cookie rules and more

Aditya Tiwari — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 18:57:18 +0000

Europe has proposed a new digital package that would ease privacy protections under its GDPR and AI laws. Read more...

Live Translation with AirPods is not coming to the EU anytime soon

Hamid Ganji — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 16:34:01 +0000

Apple customers in the EU will not yet have access to the Live Translation feature with AirPods due to the region's strict regulations. Read more...

Another win for EU users? Ads in WhatsApp won't be coming this year

David Uzondu — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 20:02:01 +0000

EU users have been seeing a string of wins lately, especially when it comes to tech regulation. Now, reports suggest that WhatsApp users in the EU won't be seeing ads in the app this year. Read more...

DeepSeek gets removed from Apple and Google app stores in Italy amid GDPR and privacy probe

Karthik Mudaliar — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 18:40:02 +0000

Chinese AI app DeekSeek has been removed from the Apple and Google app stores in Italy following an investigation by the Italian privacy watchdog. Read more...

European consumer watchdog again goes after Meta's ad-free subscription

Aditya Tiwari — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 14:04:01 +0000

Europan consumer watchdog BEUC has urged regulators to investigate Meta's updated ad-free subscription rolled out in the EU last year. Read more...

EU Court fines European Commission for failing to comply with its own laws

Karthik Mudaliar — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 09:48:01 +0000

The EU General Court has fined the European Commission for a "serious breach" of GDPR, which requires strict protection of personal data transferred outside the EU. Read more...

EU fines Meta €91 million for storing millions of passwords in plain text

Karthik Mudaliar — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 12:00:01 +0000

The Irish Data Protection Commission fined Meta €91 million for storing passwords in plain text that were accessible to thousands of Meta employees. Read more...

NOYB hits X with nine GDPR complaints for bad AI training practices

Paul Hill — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 10:36:01 +0000

The EU-based privacy organization NOYB has filed nine GDPR complaints against X in several countries for using people's data to train AI models without asking. This isn't allowed in the EU under GDPR. Read more...

Elon Musk is silently training his Grok AI on your X data, but you can stop him

Martin Hodás — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 09:46:01 +0000

X started training its AI chatbot Grok on the content published by users. The platform didn't inform the users and even surprised authorities in the EU where it might violate European laws. Read more...

Privacy group NOYB files GDPR complaint against Microsoft's ad broker firm Xandr

Paul Hill — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 10:18:01 +0000

The privacy advocacy group None Of Your Business has filed a GDPR complaint with the Italian data protection agency against Microsoft's Xandr, which has processed 0% of GDPR requests in 2022. Read more...

OpenAI hit with GDPR complaint over ChatGPT's 'hallucination' failure

Omer Dursun — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 08:56:02 +0000

A non-profit organization has filed a complaint under the GDPR regarding ChatGPT's handling of individuals' personal data. The complaint also cites OpenAI's failure to provide transparency. Read more...

EU Court of Justice warns Meta against using data such as sexual orientation for ads

Karthik Mudaliar — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 12:26:01 +0000

Meta has been warned for using users' publicly available information, such as sexual orientation details, for targeted advertising, which violates GDPR rules that require explicit user consent. Read more...

Meta offers to make ad-free Facebook and Instagram subscription cheaper in the EU

Aditya Tiwari — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 14:22:01 +0000

Meta could cut down its ad-free subscription fee in the EU by 40%. The social media giant has offered to reduce its subscription price amid rising criticism from consumer groups and regulators. Read more...

EU watchdogs are concerned about Meta's "Pay or Okay" model for ad-free subscriptions

Anushe Fawaz — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 14:08:01 +0000

Meta has a fee for consumers to reject sharing their data with advertising companies in Europe. However, today 28 EU privacy watchdogs have spoken against this ad-free subscription model. Read more...

Microsoft will now keep all European personal cloud data within its EU data boundary

John Callaham — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 14:48:01 +0000

This week, Microsoft announced it is now keeping all personal cloud data from its European users inside its EU data boundary, in an attempt to comply with the EU data privacy rules. Read more...

Europe org says Meta breaches consumer laws with its ad-free subscription, files complaint

Karthik Mudaliar — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:16:01 +0000

Europe's consumer organization, the BEUC, has filed a complaint against Meta for breaching EU consumer laws claiming that Meta is forcing users to pay a fee to ensure privacy. Read more...

Meta will reportedly launch paid subscriptions for ad-free Facebook, Instagram

Omer Dursun — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 18:18:01 +0000

Meta reportedly considers an ad-free subscription for Facebook and Instagram in the EU. It could help the company address regulatory concerns about its reliance on analyzing user data to target ads. Read more...

Google Bard's EU launch gets delayed due to privacy issues

John Callaham — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 19:32:01 +0000

The Irish Data Protection Commission claims that Google was planning to launch Bard this week, but it has not revealed enough information on how its chatbot AI will follow Europe's GDPR rules, Read more...

Spotify has been fined $5.4 million due to GDPR violations

Steve Bennett — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 18:44:01 +0000

Spotify has fallen foul of the EU's General Data Protection Regulations and has been fined SEK 58 million (equivalent to $5.4 million) by a Swedish regulator due to how it handles personal data. Read more...

Microsoft says it may pay a $425 million fine over alleged Linkedin privacy violations

John Callaham — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 14:24:01 +0000

Microsoft said the Irish Data Protection Commission could leverage the fine because the regulator believes the company's Linkedin service violated GDPR privacy laws with targeted advertising. Read more...

Meta gets hit with a $1.3 billion fine by the EU for sending personal data to the US

John Callaham — Mon, 22 May 2023 10:42:02 +0000

This is a record fine by the EU to a company for allegedly breaking the GDPR agreement. It claims Meta violated the agreement by sending data of European citizens to Meta's servers in the US. Read more...

Google Bard AI chatbot is not available in the European Union over potential GDPR concerns

Tushar Mehta — Thu, 11 May 2023 22:08:01 +0000

Despite a massive AI push at Google I/O 2023, Google's ChatGPT competitor, Bard, is skipping a release in the European Union (EU), possibly to avoid being grounded over privacy regulations under GDPR. Read more...

Study reveals 1 in 4 children apps on the Google Play Store violate privacy rules

Karthik Mudaliar — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 15:16:01 +0000

A study by Comparitech has revealed that nearly 25% of children's apps on the Play Store collect data without proper policies and violate the UK's ICO code meant to protect children's privacy. Read more...

The European Union is about to get stricter on GDPR compliance

Steve Bennett — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 15:58:01 +0000

Ever since GDPR came in across the EU, companies have been scrambling to comply. Responsibility for policing this has fallen to regional governments and now each will need to report six times a year. Read more...

Meta's WhatsApp slapped with a €5.5 million fine for GDPR violations

Paul Hill — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 16:24:01 +0000

Meta has been hit with a €5.5 million fine for violating GDPR rules with its WhatsApp messenger. A complainant said users were forced to agree to data processing to use WhatsApp and this broke rules. Read more...

Meta fined €390 million by Irish Data Protection Commission for GDPR violations

Paul Hill — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 04:10:02 +0000

Meta has said it will appeal against two fines from the Irish DPC which total €390 million. It was fined because of GDPR violations which were raised by two complainants in May 2018. Read more...

TikTok says many countries, including China, can access European user data

Karthik Mudaliar — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 13:48:01 +0000

TikTok's new privacy policy indicates that employees located in several countries, including China, can remotely access European user data by way of methods recognized under the GDPR. Read more...

The UK signs data adequacy agreement with South Korea

Karthik Mudaliar — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 08:06:01 +0000

The UK and Republic of Korea have signed a data adequacy agreement that will allow the two countries to transfer data between each other. The countries also agreed for the protection of this data. Read more...

Dutch government signs deal to use Google Workspace tools in the public sector

Paul Hill — Mon, 30 May 2022 13:32:01 +0000

The Dutch government has signed an agreement with Google to use Google Workspace tools across public sector organisations. It has been examining the solution and that it complies with GDPR since 2020. Read more...

EU-US agree on landmark transatlantic data transfer pact, possibly with better safeguards

Alap Naik Desai — Sat, 26 Mar 2022 00:42:01 +0000

The European Union and the U.S. have reached a provisional agreement over the transatlantic data transfer, which could help companies collect and process user data, possibly with better safeguards. Read more...

TRUSTe has certified Chinese phone maker Xiaomi with full GDPR compliance

Paul Hill — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 18:16:01 +0000

Xiaomi's products have received certification from TRUSTe showing that they work in compliance with the EU's GDPR which guarantees strong privacy protections for people in the economic bloc. Read more...

Google: We need an EU-US data transfer framework as soon as possible

Usama Jawad — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 05:36:01 +0000

Google has highlighted the urgent need for a robust EU-US data transfer framework in light of the recent ruling against the use of Google Analytics issued by Austrian data protection authorities. Read more...

Dutch document say Google Analytics might be banned soon

Paul Hill — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 14:28:01 +0000

The Dutch data protection regulator is investigating Google Analytics with results due in early 2022. Google could be forced to alter its software if it's found to contravene the GDPR. Read more...

LastPass risking a €20 million GDPR fine due to unresolved bugs

Dean Howell — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 21:48:01 +0000

Of the many grievances listed, some really standout and they all revolve around tactics that make it hard, if not impossible, for a LastPass free user to export their personal data. Read more...

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Neowin Deals — Sat, 23 Oct 2021 14:00:01 +0000

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Ireland fines WhatsApp €225 million over violations of GDPR

Paul Hill — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 14:10:01 +0000

Ireland's Data Protection Commission has issued a €225 million fine to WhatsApp for violating GDPR rules. The DPC also said that WhatsApp will have to change its processes to align with GDPR. Read more...

TikTok fined a whopping €750,000 for "violating children's privacy"

Sayan Sen — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 16:16:02 +0000

TikTok has been fined a huge sum of money by the Dutch DPA, a sum total of €750,000, for not appropriately communicating its app's data privacy and usage policy, in accordance with the EU's GDPR. Read more...

Twitter slapped with €450,000 fine over a data breach in Ireland

Jay Bonggolto — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 11:58:02 +0000

Twitter has been fined €450,000 in Ireland for failing to notify privacy regulators of a data breach in 2019 and for lack of proper documentation as required by the European Union's GDPR. Read more...

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