Noyb, an Austrian privacy advocacy group, filed a series of complaints against TikTok, Xiaomi, AliExpress, Temu, Shein, and WeChat, alleging violations of European Union data privacy regulations. The complaints, filed on 16 January, accuse these firms of unlawfully transferring user data from the EU to China, potentially breaching the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Noyb, the Vienna-based organisation, which has previously filed complaints against American tech giants like Apple, Alphabet, and Meta, has now turned its focus to Chinese companies. According to a recent blog post by noyb, this is the firm time it has filed such complaints against firms based in China. Legal actions have been initiated in Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Austria seeking to halt data transfers and impose fines that could reach up to 4% of each company's global revenue.

Noyb's investigation found that companies such as AliExpress, Shein, TikTok, and Xiaomi openly admit in transparency reports and related documents to sending European user data to China. Other firms, including retailer Temu and Tencent's messaging app WeChat, reportedly transfer data to undisclosed third countries, likely China.

Under GDPR rules, data transfers to countries outside the EU are permissible only if those countries can guarantee protections equivalent to EU standards. Kleanthi Sardeli, a data protection lawyer at Noyb, criticised the transfers, stating, "Given that China is an authoritarian surveillance state, it is crystal clear that China doesn't offer the same level of data protection as the EU. Transferring Europeans' personal data is clearly unlawful and must be terminated immediately."

China's foreign ministry, responding to the complaints, denied any wrongdoing. Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun asserted that the Chinese government "has never and will never" compel businesses or individuals to collect or provide data in violation of local laws, emphasising that China prioritises data privacy and security.