Max Schrems aims to fight GDPR violations through crowdfunded privacy organization

Lawyer and activist Max Schrems gave a keynote on how he famously brought down Safe Harbor at the inaugural Nordic Privacy Arena last year. Now he’s crowdfunding an organization help individuals fight violations of the GDPR.

NOYB, or None of Your Business, will argue cases in court and is approved to lodge complaints under article 80. Thus, the organization will be able to represent collectives as well as individuals. Smartphone operating systems and popular smartphone apps are mentioned as potential first projects.

How will you decide what cases to take on?

– We are focusing on business, not government surveillance. Right now the aim is to look at gross violations of the very basics of GDPR and on cases that are close to the daily life of people, says Schrems.

NOYB lists, among others, MEP Jan-Philip Albrecht, law professor Herwig Hofmann, EPIC and the Norwegian Consumer Council as experts and partners. So far the crowdfunding campaign has reached 89,848 of the targeted 250 000 Euro needed to get the organization off the ground.

Who are the big funders so far? Will you meet the target?

– So far it’s the City of Vienna (€25k) and StartPage (€20k). We’ll see if we will make in the end – that’s the kick of a kickstarter.

 How has the initiative been received so far?

– The feedback is very positive. Noyb fills an obvious gap in the digital world. We are also very happy about the experts we could find so far. The other question is, how far we can motivate people to not just “like” us on Facebook, but to also support us financially.

You state that Europe lacks effective enforcement – what needs be done, in your opinion? More resources to DPA:s, more education?

– DPAs are one factor, but will never be able to do everything and are bound by legal constraints, politics and a budget, says Schrems.

– I think education is very important, but these issues are so complex, that the idea of a society in which every person is fully aware of all data processing that goes on around him/her and makes informed decisions is rather unlikely. We’ll need to have experts and clear laws that protect the individual – who has 100 other problems in life too.

 What are the main privacy threats we face today in the EU?

– There are so many, I would not know how to prioritize. One big issue is surely mono-/duopolies that are forming (e.g. Apple and Google for Smartphones) that have a huge dominance and reinforce this dominance through data. People have no realistic options to “escape” anymore.

 

Fredrik Svärd
Secretary-General, DPForum 

Logga in

Ej medlem? Registrera dig

Återställ lösenord

Bli medlem


    Forum för Dataskydd bidrar till ett tryggt informationssamhälle och värnar om integritetsskydd idag och i morgon. Vi förstärker, förenklar och ökar medvetenheten kring integritetsskydd i Europa genom att skapa ett tongivande forum för samverkan och informationsspridning. Stärk ditt dataskyddsarbete med kompetens från drygt 800 medlemmar på våra seminarier och nätverksträffar. Medlemmar går gratis på våra seminarier och nätverksträffar samt till rabatterat pris på Nordic Privacy Arena.

    Studentmedlemskap upphör automatiskt efter ett år, därefter behövs ny ansökan. Ange också ert mecenatkortnr i meddelandefältet.

    Det är viktigt att meddela oss om du byter arbetsplats, faktureringsadress, telefonnummer, mailadress eller annan viktig information. När du byter arbetsplats eller annan ovannämnd information mailar du oss och meddelar detta på info@dpforum.se så att vi kan säkerställa kontinuitet i ditt medlemskap.

    Ordinarie medlemskap: 1645 kr per år.
    Student: Gratis första året, sedan 200 kr per år (är du anställd på ett företag gäller ordinarie pris).












    Genom att fylla i formuläret, godkänner jag att Forum för Dataskydd lagrar mina personuppgifter i sin databas som kommer användas för att förse mig med relevant information om Forum för Dataskydds tjänster och erbjudanden.

    This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
    Go to cart