GDPR Prompts 95,000 Complaints so Far, EC Says

The EU general data protection regulation is showing good results in the eight months it has been in effect, the European Commission said Friday. People "have become more conscious of the importance of data protection and of their rights" and are now exercising those rights, it said. National privacy authorities have received over 95,000 complaints, the most common of which involve telemarketing, promotional emails and video surveillance/closed caption TV. High-level cases could lead to fines up to 4 percent of the annual revenue of a company, the EC said. Three fines have been issued, the largest by France against Google for 50 million euros (about $57 million) for lack of consent to Google Ads (see 1901220030). The EC urged the five countries that haven't adopted the GDPR into national law to do so quickly.