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