Noyb Advocacy Group Submits Complaints Against Fitbits To European Union Privacy Authority

NOYB filed a complaint against Fitbit. (photo: dock. noyb)

JAKARTA - On Thursday, August 31, the advocacy group Noyb (None Of Your Business) filed a complaint against Fitbits owned by Google in Austria, the Netherlands and Italy, on charges of violating EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy regulations.

Vienna-based Noyb, the digital rights group founded by privacy activist Max Schrems, has filed hundreds of complaints against major tech companies ranging from Alphabet Inc's Google to Meta Platform Inc., for privacy breaches, some of which resulted in large fines imposed.

Fitbit forces users to give approval for data transfers outside the European Union and provides no possibility of revoking their approval. The Hall allegedly violates GDPR requirements, Noyb announced.

Fitbit sells watches that track activity, heart rate, and sleep. The company also offers subscription services ranging from 9.99 US dollars (Rp150 thousand) per month.

"Paying attention that the company collects the most sensitive health data, it's amazing that the company isn't even trying to explain the use of the data, as required by law," said Bernardo Armentano, a data protection attorney at Noyb.

Fines for violating GDPR rules can reach up to 4% of the company's global annual revenue. Google's annual revenue reaches 280 billion US dollars (IDR 4,266 trillion) in 2022.

This advocacy group wants Fitbit to be forced to share all mandatory information about data transfer to its users and allow them to use its app without having to give approval for data transfer.

According to Noyb, although the GDPR allows each individual to revoke their consent, Fitbit's privacy policy states that the only way to revoke approval is to delete an account, meaning lost previously tracked training and health data.