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REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms' (META.O) paid no-ads subscription service, which it rolled out in Europe this month, breaches EU consumer laws, Europe's largest consumer group said on Thursday as it took its grievance to consumer protection authorities. Meta has said it launched the paid no-ads subscription service, which applies to Facebook and Instagram, to comply with EU rules requiring companies to give users a choice on whether their data can be collected and used for targeted ads. It also took issue with the "very high subscription fee for ad-free services" which could deter users. The ad-free service cost 9.99 euros ($10.96) monthly for Web users and 12.99 euros for iOS and Android users. Meta has said these prices are in line with Google's (GOOGL.O) YouTube and Spotify's (SPOT.N) premium services and with Netflix (NFLX.O).

Persons: Dado Ruvic, NOYB, Meta, BEUC, Ursula Pachl, Pachl, Foo Yun Chee, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Meta, REUTERS, Rights, European Consumer Organisation, CPC, Facebook, EU, YouTube, Netflix, Thomson Locations: Rights BRUSSELS, Europe, Austrian, Brussels

Meta announced the service for Facebook and Instagram last month. The ad-free service cost 9.99 euros ($10.90) monthly for Web users and 12.99 euros for iOS and Android users. Contrary to this law, Meta charges a 'privacy fee' of up to 250 euros per year if anyone dares to exercise their fundamental right to data protection," NOYB data protection lawyer Felix Mikolasch said in a statement. NOYB filed the complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority. The complaint will likely be forwarded to the Irish data protection watchdog which oversees Meta because it has its European headquarters in Ireland.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Meta, Max Schrems, Felix Mikolasch, NOYB, Foo Yun Chee, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Meta, Facebook, EU, Austrian Data Protection, Netflix, YouTube, Google, Thomson Locations: Rights BRUSSELS, Europe, Austrian, Europe's, Vienna, Ireland, Brussels

REUTERS/Michele Tantussi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Advocacy group Noyb on Thursday filed complaints against Google-owned Fitbit in Austria, the Netherlands and Italy accusing the fitness tracking company of violating the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy regime. Vienna-based Noyb (None Of Your Business), the digital rights group founded by privacy activist Max Schrems, has already filed hundreds of complaints against big tech companies ranging from Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google to Meta over privacy violations, some leading to big fines. Fitbit forces its users to consent to data transfers outside the EU and does not provide the possibility to withdraw their consent, violating GDPR's requirements, Noyb said. Fines for violating GDPR rules can reach up to 4% of a firm's global annual revenue. While GDPR allows every person to withdraw their consent, Fitbit's privacy policy states that the only way to withdraw consent is to delete an account, which means losing their previously tracked workouts and health data, Noyb said.

Persons: Michele Tantussi, Max Schrems, Noyb, Fitbit, doesn't, Bernardo Armentano, Supantha Mukherjee, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: IFA, REUTERS, Rights, Google, European, Data Protection, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Rights STOCKHOLM, Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Vienna, Stockholm

☆ Privacy group challenges Ryanair's use of facial recognition
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBLIN, July 27 (Reuters) - Digital rights group NOYB on Thursday filed a complaint against Ryanair (RYA.I), alleging that it is violating customers' rights to data protection by using facial recognition to verify their identity when booking through online travel agents. NOYB, led by Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems, filed the complaint with Spain's data protection agency on behalf of a complainant who booked a Ryanair flight through the Spanish-based online travel agency eDreams ODIGEO. The low-cost carrier said the steps are required to manage the passenger's booking, online check-in and to comply with safety and security requirements. NOYB has successfully launched privacy challenges against some of the world's largest multinational companies across the European Union under the bloc's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), introduced in 2018. NOYB alleged that Ryanair's verification procedures are not valid under the GDPR because it does not provide comprehensible information about the purpose of the "intrusive process."

Persons: NOYB, Max Schrems, eDreams ODIGEO, Padraic Halpin, Louise Heavens Organizations: DUBLIN, Ryanair, Irish, European Union, Data Protection, Thomson Locations: Austrian, Spanish

☆ EU seals new US data transfer pact, but challenge likely
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, July 10 (Reuters) - The European Commission announced a new data transfer pact with the United States on Monday, seeking to end the legal uncertainty plaguing thousands of companies that transfer personal data across the Atlantic. The move was immediately criticised by non-profit group noyb, led by privacy activist Max Schrems, which said it would challenge the agreement. U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the data transfer pact and said it reflected a "joint commitment to strong data privacy protections." Earlier this year, the EU's privacy watchdog, the European Data Protection Board, said the latest data agreement still fell short and urged the commission to do more to protect Europeans' privacy rights. Europe's top court scuppered the previous two deals after challenges by Schrems because of concerns about U.S. intelligence agencies' accessing European citizens' private data.

Persons: Max Schrems, Joe Biden, Didier Reynders, Schrems, Cecilia Bonefeld, Dahl, Foo Yun Chee, Kanishka Singh, Philip Blenkinsop, Christina Fincher, Leslie Adler Organizations: European Commission, Atlantic, European Court, Justice, Airbus, Apple, Ericsson, Nokia, Philips, Samsung, Data Protection, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, United States, Washington

☆ EU seals new US data transfer pact but challenge ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, July 10 (Reuters) - The European Commission announced a new data transfer pact with the United States on Monday, seeking to end the legal uncertainty plaguing thousands of companies which transfer personal data across the Atlantic. However, the move was immediately criticised by non-profit group noyb, led by privacy activist Max Schrems, which said it would challenge the agreement. The EU executive said measures taken by the United States ensured an adequate level of protection for Europeans' personal data transferred across the Atlantic for commercial use. It said new binding safeguards, such as that limiting U.S. intelligence services' access to EU data to what is "necessary and proportionate" and the setting up of a Data Protection Review Court for Europeans, address the concerns raised by Europe's top court. Earlier this year, EU privacy watchdog the European Data Protection Board said the latest data agreement still fell short and urged the Commission to do more to protect Europeans' privacy rights.

Persons: Max Schrems, Didier Reynders, Schrems, Cecilia Bonefeld, Dahl, Foo Yun Chee, Philip Blenkinsop, Christina Fincher Organizations: European Commission, EU, Atlantic, European Court, Justice, Airbus, Apple, Ericsson, Nokia, Philips, Samsung, European Data Protection, Commission, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, United States, EU

☆ Meta plans to appeal $414 million fine amid row over consent for ad tracking
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta was fined $414 million by Ireland's Data Protection Commission on Wednesday. Max Schrems, who submitted the complaint, told Insider Meta will need to ask for users' consent. The company was hit with two fines on Wednesday – one for Facebook and one for Instagram – by Ireland's Data Protection Commission for violating the Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws. This refers to one of the GDPR act's six legal bases for processing users' data. The European Commission and Irish Data Protection Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

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