Already under investigation by the data protection authorities (DPAs) of several EU nations, OpenAI is now facing scrutiny in Poland in response to an August GDPR complaint.
Data Protection
Certain types of personal data are very valuable to criminals, and can be very damaging to an individual or business if it falls into the wrong hands. As the world becomes more digital and more connected, more of this sort of data is generated and passed between various sources on a regular basis.
Government regulations and supervisory authorities aren’t just about keeping irresponsible parties in line. They also provide vital security guidance to every type of organization that handles sensitive personal, business or government information.
Data protection regulations also ensure that the end user has a transparent view of and a say in the processing of personal data. These safeguards play a significant role in everything from the preservation of civil rights to ensuring that democratic institutions function properly.
Some types of personal data are clear candidates for regulation: medical records, banking information, national ID numbers and so on. But some of these regulations also cover items that might seem relatively innocuous at first glance: home addresses, email addresses, website profile information and so on. For example, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has stipulations about anything that is unique to an individual to include phone numbers and social media accounts. People have varying levels of privacy preference with these items, but they are often protected by regulation because they can be used for targeted scams and attempts at identity theft.
Given that regulations often take the size and customer count of businesses into consideration in terms of penalties and the scope of protection of personal data, compliance is particularly important for enterprise-scale organizations. You do not necessarily have to have an active business presence in a country or region; simply storing data on or moving it through servers there may subject you to their data protection rules.
Fine imposed by the Norwegian data protection authority in August could be expanded to the entirety of the EU, subjecting Meta to extensive daily penalties until it makes big changes to tracking ads. Decision could potentially spark an EU ban.
As financial services organizations become increasingly dependent on data, it is critical to ensure that data is properly identified, organized, secured, and governed. Creating a solid data governance foundation will reduce risk while also increasing the ability to harness the value of data to drive business results.
The California location tracking issue dates back to 2018. Over 40 states have already reached similar privacy settlements with the tech giant, with Google having now paid over $600 million in total.
A children's privacy complaint that dates back to 2021 has resulted in a major GDPR fine for TikTok. The issue largely centers on the "Family Pairing" feature introduced in 2020 which had no real verification process ensuring that the linked parent account actually belonged to a parent.
Two Dutch consumer groups, the Privacy Protection Foundation and Consumentenbond, have filed suit against Google over its targeted advertising auctions. The suit is seeking the equivalent of $804 for each Google user harmed by its "constant surveillance" and sharing of personal data.
The opening of the Irish data center is part of the final stage of a EU privacy plan TikTok kicked off in mid-2021, seeking to address user data security concerns and the legal status of its international data transfers.
India has enacted its long-awaited privacy legislation, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act on August 12. While there are various aspects of this Act which distinguish it from other privacy laws in the world, one that is particularly interesting is its approach towards user consent.
A complaint in Poland alleges GDPR violations by ChatGPT in the areas of lawful basis for data processing, data access, fairness, transparency and personal privacy.
GDPR complaint points out that Fitbit forces EU users to accept international data transfers as a requirement to use the service, something that may not meet regulatory standards for free and informed consent.