Moderate
Enforcement
Announced
European Union · Jan 23, 2022
noyb reports low GDPR enforcement rates on Data Protection Day
noyb disclosed that only 15% of its 51 GDPR complaints were decided within a year and no pan‑European case has been resolved under the one‑stop‑shop mechanism. The organization highlights delays across DPAs, including a three‑year‑plus…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Fine
In effect
Malta · Jan 20, 2022
Malta data protection commissioner fines C-Planet €65,000 for illegal voter data collection
The Malta Information & Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC) imposed a €65,000 fine on IT company C-Planet for unlawfully collecting personal data of 98% of Maltese voters, including political preferences. The IDPC found the processing…
Information & Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC) · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Announced
Ireland · Oct 15, 2021
Irish DPC orders noyb to remove draft decision from website
The Irish Data Protection Commission sent a take‑down request to privacy activist group noyb on 14 Oct 2021, ordering removal of a draft decision that allegedly strips Facebook users of GDPR rights. noyb refused, citing Austrian law and…
Irish Data Protection Commission · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Fine
Announced
Ireland · Sep 2, 2021
Irish DPC issues €225 million fine against WhatsApp
The Irish Data Protection Commission imposed a €225 million fine on WhatsApp (owned by Facebook) under the GDPR. The fine was increased from an initial €50 million after pressure from other EU data protection authorities. Max Schrems of…
Irish Data Protection Commission · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
European Union · Aug 13, 2021
noyb files complaints against cookie paywalls of seven German and Austrian news sites over unlawful consent
noyb filed complaints against the cookie paywalls of SPIEGEL.de, Zeit.de, heise.de, FAZ.net, derStandard.at, krone.at and t-online.de, arguing that the "pay or okay" model violates the GDPR's requirement for freely given consent. The…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
European Union · Aug 10, 2021
noyb files 422 GDPR complaints over deceptive cookie banners
noyb filed 422 formal GDPR complaints with data protection authorities in ten EU countries concerning dark‑pattern cookie banners. After a warning phase, 42% of identified violations were remedied, but 82% of the 516 sites still breach the…
Data Protection Authorities · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Court ruling
Decided
Austria · Jul 20, 2021
Austrian Supreme Court refers Facebook case to CJEU over consent vs contract and awards €500 symbolic damages
The Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) referred four questions to the Court of Justice of the EU concerning Facebook's reliance on contract instead of consent under the GDPR. In a partial judgment, the court awarded Max Schrems €500 for lack of…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Pending
European Union · Jul 19, 2021
noyb reports 2.5‑year delay in GDPR access‑request complaints against streaming services
In January 2019 noyb filed complaints against eight streaming services for failing to comply with the GDPR right of access. After two and a half years only one complaint was resolved after noyb took the responsible authority to court. The…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Court ruling
Decided
European Union · Jul 16, 2021
Anniversary of the CJEU 'Schrems II' decision on EU‑US data transfers
Max Schrems marks one year since the CJEU's Schrems II ruling that declared EU‑US data transfers unlawful. He notes a lack of clear guidance, pending model complaints filed by noyb, and ongoing uncertainty around Standard Contractual…
European Data Protection Board · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Settlement
Settled
European Union · Jul 16, 2021
Max Schrems notes settlement with Irish DPC in Jan 2021 amid Schrems II fallout
The statement highlights that of the 101 model complaints filed by noyb after the Schrems II ruling, none have been decided yet. It notes that the original Facebook complaint led to a settlement with the Irish Data Protection Commission in…
Irish Data Protection Commission · Standard Contractual Clauses
Moderate
Court ruling
Decided
European Union · Jun 24, 2021
European Court of Justice invalidated Privacy Shield in July 2020
The European Court of Justice ruled that the EU‑US Privacy Shield framework is invalid, affecting cross‑border data transfers. The decision was highlighted in noyb’s 2020 Annual Report.
Privacy Shield
Moderate
Proposed regulation
Published
European Union · Jun 14, 2021
noyb and CSL propose Advanced Data Protection Control browser signal to replace cookie banners
noyb and the Sustainable Computing Lab released a technical proposal for an "Advanced Data Protection Control" (ADPC) browser signal. The signal would allow browsers to automatically convey user consent or opt‑in preferences to websites…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Announced
European Union · May 31, 2021
noyb launches automated system, sends 500 draft GDPR cookie‑banner complaints across Europe
noyb sent more than 500 draft GDPR complaints to companies using unlawful cookie banners, offering a one‑month grace period before filing formal complaints. The NGO developed software to detect violations and generate complaints…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
European Union · May 26, 2021 · effective May 25, 2018
Digital Rights alliance files legal complaints across Europe against facial recognition company Clearview AI
Noyb and other EU digital‑rights groups submitted complaints to data‑protection authorities in France, Austria, Italy, Greece and the United Kingdom to halt Clearview AI's mass facial‑recognition surveillance. The regulators have three…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Court ruling
Pending
Austria · Mar 14, 2021
Austrian Supreme Court to consider referral of Facebook GDPR consent bypass case
The Austrian Supreme Court (OGH) has been asked to refer a case concerning Facebook's alleged bypass of GDPR consent rules to the CJEU. The dispute centers on Facebook's claim that a contractual duty to provide personalized advertising…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Announced
Germany · Jan 28, 2021 · deadline Feb 12, 2021
Hamburg DPA preliminarily deems Clearview AI’s biometric profiling of EU residents illegal and orders partial deletion
The Hamburg Data Protection Authority preliminarily found that Clearview AI’s collection of biometric profiles of Europeans violates the GDPR and ordered the deletion of the mathematical hash values of the complainant’s biometric profile.…
Hamburg Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Guidance
Published
European Union · Jan 27, 2021
noyb urges stronger GDPR enforcement on European Data Protection Day
noyb highlights that despite the GDPR's strong provisions, compliance remains low and enforcement insufficient. The organization calls on data protection authorities and companies to move from paper rights to real protection, citing the…
EDPB · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Court ruling
Decided
Luxembourg · Jan 25, 2021
Luxembourg administrative tribunal rules CNPD must handle GDPR complaints against US controllers
The Luxembourg administrative tribunal found that the CNPD wrongly dismissed complaints against US‑based data controllers Apollo and RocketReach and ordered the DPA to reopen the cases. The decision follows earlier appeals by privacy NGO…
Commission Nationale pour la Protection des Données (CNPD) · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
European Union · Jan 22, 2021
noyb files complaint against European Parliament over US data transfers and deceptive cookie banners
noyb filed a complaint with the European Data Protection Supervisor on behalf of six MEPs alleging illegal transfers of personal data to US providers Google and Stripe and misleading cookie banners on the Parliament's COVID‑19 testing…
European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) · General Data Protection Regulation
Moderate
Enforcement
Filed
Malta · Nov 12, 2020
noyb files complaint with Maltese DPA over C-Planet voter data breach
noyb filed a complaint with the Maltese Data Protection Authority against C-Planet IT Solutions for leaking personal data of 337,384 voters, including phone numbers, dates of birth and political opinions. NGOs Daphne Foundation and…
Maltese Data Protection Authority · General Data Protection Regulation
