Top News- Spotify fined for GDPR Violation, French Lawmakers Questioning TikTok Leadership, and more

Spotify slammed with € 5 Million fine for GDPR Violation

The Swedish Data Protection Authority, IMY, fined the streaming platform Spotify following a noyb complaint. Spotify is to pay a fine of 58 million Swedish Crown, approximating to € 5 Million, for not complying with the obligation of users' right to access all their data and how it is being used. The company only provided access to only 'some' of the data with no information on how to get the rest when asked for information on personal data. IMY also ordered Spotify to provide the complete set of data. Read More

FTC offers Guidance on IoT and Privacy Protection

The Federal Communications Commission, FTC, offered guidance on privacy protections with IoT-based devices following the enforcement actions against Alexa and Ring. The guidance cited how companies would be held accountable by the FTC for improper data usage. Companies are also advised on the need for employee access to sensitive data and special safeguards on human review. Read More

CNIL Fines Doctissimo for Unlawful Data Processing

The French Data Protection Authority, CNIL, imposed a fine of €280, 000 on the health website Doctissimo for infringing four provisions of the GDPR, followed by an additional €100, 000 fine for violating the French Cookies Rule. The CNIL handed down its decision considering various factors, like the large number of data subjects impacted by this violation. It was also noted that Doctissimo has over-retained certain categories of data and processed sensitive health information without explicit consent from the subjects. Read More

Denmark Looks to Enhance Children's Data Protection

Denmark's Government wants to improve the standards of Children's Data Protection by aiming to raise the age limit for the collection of children's personal data by tech giants to curb the immense accumulation of sensitive data. The age for individual consent would now be 15 or 16, and requiring companies to get parental consent for children below this age. The Government's statement read that these changes address are to address the opaque algorithms of big techs to harvest massive amounts of personal data. Read More

French Lawmakers, Garante Question TikTok Leadership in Europe

French Senators questioned TikTok's European officials over the company's data protection practices and ties with the Chinese Government. Senators pressed the company's public affairs director in France regarding its ownership structure in the country. Following this, Garante, Italy's Data Protection Authority, called on the company for an explanation on the reports of its personal data being accessed by China's Communist Party. Read More