According to advocacy group Noyb, Fitbit forces users to consent to the transfer of personal data to countries outside the European Union. It will no longer be possible to withdraw this consent, which is contrary to European privacy rules.
Huge fines
Complaints have been submitted to the Dutch Data Protection Authority, among others. Privacy regulators in Austria and Italy have also been contacted about the alleged breaches. Fines for violating privacy rules can reach 4% of a company’s total annual sales, which could be important for Google given its annual revenue of $280 billion by 2022.
Much to Noyb’s dismay, which is short for “none of your business,” personal data ends up this way in jurisdictions where consumers don’t have the same privacy protections as EU residents. The bloc of countries has been subject to strict privacy rules since 2018, which were included in the General Data Protection Regulation.
“You first buy a Fitbit for at least 100 euros. Then you get a paid subscription only to discover that you are forced to share your data ‘for free’ with parties all over the world,” says Noib lawyer Maartje de Graaf.
No data transfer
The organization wants Fitbit to allow customers to use apps for smart watches without forced permission to transfer data to the United States, for example. As far as Noyb is concerned, Fitbit should also share more information with customers about the way the company handles their data.
Noib was founded by Austrian activist Max Schrems. He previously achieved great success in the highest court in the European Union, which ruled that the agreements concluded with the United States regarding data transfer were invalid. This ruling came after complaints about the use of data from the social media company Facebook.
