Noyb files GDPR complaint against online dictionary for consenting to 1,741 ad partners with just one click
Here are 1,741 reasons not to click “Accept.”
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- Austrian dictionary dict.cc requests user consent for 1,741 ad partner companies to track online activities simultaneously.
- Privacy group noyb argues informed consent is impossible when reviewing 1,741 data protection policies would take weeks.
- GDPR requires consent to be informed, specific, and unambiguous about data collection and processing purposes.
- Noyb filed complaint with Austrian DPA requesting immediate data deletion and fines to prevent similar violations.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Privacy advocacy group noyb has filed a complaint with the Austrian data protection authority because dict.cc is asking its users to give consent to 1,741 partner companies tracking their online activities.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Europe’s privacy law, requires that consent be informed, specific, and unambiguous.
In other words, users must exactly know what they are agreeing to when they press the “Accept” button when a cookie banner pops up, like what data is collected, how this information is processed, and whether it’s being sold to other companies for what purposes.
In most cases, personal information about your online activities is shared with so-called partner companies. They use the collected information to offer personalized advertisements: that’s how they make money.
Most websites say they share your information with a few dozen, or perhaps a few hundred partner companies. However, online dictionary dict.cc takes the cake by partnering up with 1,741 ad partners.
Austria’s privacy advocacy group noyb is outraged by this and claims that making an informed decision is essentially inconceivable.
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“It would take days or even weeks to properly read and understand the data protection policies of 1,741 companies. It is ridiculous to assume that this would allow for an informed decision,” Felix Mikolasch, data protection at noyb, says in a statement.
According to his colleague Martin Baumann, consenting to over 1,700 ad partners using your personal data feels morally wrong. That’s why noyb is trying to put a stop to this.
To achieve this, the privacy interest group has filed a complaint with the Austrian data protection authority (DPA) and requested to order dict.cc to immediately delete all unlawfully processed data.
In addition, noyb wants the data protection authority to issue a hefty fine to the online dictionary to prevent similar breaches in the future. To lend its ruling greater significance, the DPA could ask the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to issue an opinion on the matter.
The EDPB is an independent body whose goal is to make sure that the GDPR is applied consistently throughout all EU member states.
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