Low
Lawsuit filed
Filed
Austria · Dec 4, 2023
noyb sues CRIF and AZ Direct for illegal secret data processing in Austria
noyb filed a lawsuit in the Vienna Regional Court on behalf of seven individuals alleging that CRIF GmbH and address trader AZ Direct secretly trade personal data of millions of Austrians for credit scoring. The Austrian Data Protection…
Austrian Data Protection Authority (DSB) · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
Austria · Nov 28, 2023
noyb files GDPR complaint against Meta over “Pay or Okay” tracking fee
noyb lodged a complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority alleging that Meta’s practice of charging users up to €251.88 a year to avoid personalized advertising violates GDPR consent requirements. The complaint references the…
Austrian Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
European Union · Nov 16, 2023
noyb files complaint with EDPS over EU Commission’s political micro‑targeting ads on X
noyb lodged a complaint with the European Data Protection Supervisor alleging the EU Commission used unlawful micro‑targeting on X to promote its chat‑control proposal. The ads targeted users based on political views and religious beliefs…
European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) · General Data Protection Regulation
Low
Lawsuit filed
Filed
DE-HE · Oct 24, 2023
Acxiom sues German DPA to block noyb’s access to GDPR complaint files
Acxiom filed an interim injunction request with the Wiesbaden Administrative Court to prevent the Hessian data protection authority from granting noyb access to the case file concerning its alleged illegal sale of personal data to CRIF.…
Hessian Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Interpretation
Announced
European Union · Oct 3, 2023
Meta proposes 'Pay for your Rights' model charging EU users €160/year for non‑consent
Meta plans to charge EU users €160 per year if they do not consent to the processing of their personal data on Facebook and Instagram. The proposal references an obiter dictum from the CJEU case C‑252/21 that an alternative to ads may be…
Irish Data Protection Commission · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Fine
Decided
Norway (EEA) · Sep 29, 2023
Norwegian Privacy Appeals Board upholds €5.8 million fine against Grindr
The Norwegian Privacy Appeals Board confirmed the Norwegian Data Protection Authority's fine of NOK 65 million against the dating app Grindr for sharing sensitive personal data with third parties. The fine, approximately €5.8 million…
Norwegian Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
Low
Enforcement
Filed
France · Sep 14, 2023
noyb files three complaints in France alleging illegal data sharing by Fnac, SeLoger, MyFitnessPal apps
noyb lodged complaints with the French data protection authority (CNIL) against the mobile apps of Fnac, SeLoger and MyFitnessPal, alleging they collect and share personal data without user consent. The complaints cite violations of the…
CNIL · ePrivacy Directive
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
European Union · Aug 31, 2023
noyb files complaints against Fitbit in Austria, Netherlands, Italy over forced consent for data transfers
noyb lodged three complaints with the Austrian, Dutch and Italian data protection authorities alleging that Fitbit forces new EU users to consent to transfers of personal and health data to the United States and other countries. The…
Austrian Data Protection Authority, Dutch Data Protection Authority, Italian Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
High
Penalty
Published
European Union · Aug 23, 2023
EU data protection board draft decision imposes €390 million fine on Meta for forced consent
In December 2022, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published a draft decision in the “forced consent” case against Meta, finding the company's practices violated the GDPR. The decision resulted in a €390 million fine. The case…
European Data Protection Board · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Announced
European Union · Aug 1, 2023
Meta to switch to consent for behavioral ads after EU litigation
Meta announced it will seek user consent before showing behavioral ads in the EU and Switzerland, changing its legal basis from legitimate interest to consent. The move follows litigation by noyb, decisions by the EDPB and the CJEU, and a…
Irish Data Protection Commission · General Data Protection Regulation
High
Data protection authority action
Filed
Spain · Jul 27, 2023
noyb files complaint with Spanish DPA over Ryanair’s facial‑recognition verification for travel‑agent bookings
noyb lodged a complaint with Spain's Data Protection Authority (AEPD) alleging that Ryanair forces customers who book via online travel agents to undergo a facial‑recognition verification process. The complaint argues that Ryanair lacks a…
Spanish Data Protection Authority (AEPD) · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Settled
Belgium · Jul 19, 2023
Belgian DPA settles with news outlets, allowing them to avoid GDPR compliance
Fifteen Belgian news sites paid €10,000 each in a settlement with the Belgian Data Protection Authority, which closed the cases without ordering changes to unlawful cookie banners. noyb filed complaints to force the DPA to reopen…
Belgian Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
In effect
Norway (EEA) · Jul 17, 2023 · effective Aug 4, 2023
Norwegian DPA temporarily bans Meta’s behavioral advertising on Facebook and Instagram
The Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet) issued a temporary ban on Meta's use of behavioral advertising on Facebook and Instagram, effective from August 4 for at least three months. The ban remains until Meta can demonstrate…
Datatilsynet · General Data Protection Regulation
Low
Enforcement
Decided
DE-NI · Jul 14, 2023
German DPA declares heise.de "Pay or Okay" cookie banner illegal
The Lower Saxony Data Protection Authority (LfD) ruled that the "Pay or Okay" model used by heise.de in 2021 violates GDPR because it does not provide specific consent for each purpose. The authority issued a reprimand, noting that…
Data Protection Authority of Lower Saxony (LfD) · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Court ruling
Decided
Germany · Jul 4, 2023
CJEU rules Meta must rely on consent for advertising, limiting GDPR bypass attempts
The Court of Justice of the EU held that Meta may only process personal data for core services and must obtain freely given consent for advertising and data sharing. The judgment rejects Meta's reliance on contractual necessity and…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
Belgium · Jun 23, 2023
noyb files complaint against TeleSign for unlawful profiling of mobile users
noyb filed a complaint with the Belgian Data Protection Authority alleging that TeleSign receives phone data from BICS and creates reputation scores without consent, violating the GDPR. The complaint cites the use of AI-generated trust…
Belgian Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Fine
In effect
France · Jun 22, 2023
French CNIL fines Criteo €40 million for GDPR violations
The French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) fined Criteo €40 million for violating the GDPR, including lack of valid consent, transparency, and failure to respect the right to erasure and access. The enforcement followed complaints filed…
CNIL · General Data Protection Regulation
Low
Interpretation
Published
Austria · Apr 11, 2023
Austrian DPA says "Pay or Okay" cookie paywalls must allow specific consent
The Austrian Data Protection Authority partially reversed its earlier stance on the "Pay or Okay" model used by Der Standard, confirming its general permissibility but requiring that users be able to say "yes" or "no" to each specific data…
Austrian Data Protection Authority (DSB) · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Guidance
Announced
European Union · Apr 4, 2023
noyb launches free tool for broad Facebook opt‑out under GDPR
The privacy NGO noyb released an online tool that lets users submit a broad objection to Meta’s processing of personal data for targeted advertising, which Meta bases on “legitimate interest”. The tool simplifies the GDPR right to object…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Low
Enforcement
In effect
European Union · Mar 30, 2023
Meta to rely on 'legitimate interest' for ads after EDPB decision
noyb won a series of complaints against Meta before the European Data Protection Board in December 2022. The EDPB decision required Meta to stop using the "necessary under contract" legal basis for advertising. Meta now plans to rely on…
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) · General Data Protection Regulation
