Google’s Fitbit under legal fire over privacy-related accusations

Ever heard of noyb? It stands for “None of Your Business” and it’s not a joke, it’s a digital rights group founded by lawyer and privacy activist Max Schrems. His mission – and that of noyb, respectively – is to enforce the European Union’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) privacy regime.

Over the years, the advocacy group has filed multiple complaints against big tech companies like Google to Meta over privacy violations – now they’re on Google’s Fitbit (via Reuters).

Here’s what noyb’s statement from August 31 says:


Maartje de Graaf, Data Protection Lawyer at noyb says that “First, you buy a Fitbit watch for at least 100 euros. Then you sign up for a paid subscription, only to find that you are forced to “freely” agree to the sharing of your data with recipients around the world. Five years into the GDPR, Fitbit is still trying to enforce a ‘take it or leave it’ approach”.

Upon deleting an account, one loses all their previously tracked workouts and health data – even if one has bought a premium yearly subscription for 79,99 euros. “Although these features are the main reason to buy a Fitbit, there is no realistic way to regain control over your data without making your product useless”, noyb points out.

Based on Alphabet’s (Google’s parent company) turnover of last year, the competent authorities could also issue a fine of up to 11,28 billion euros, if found guilty.