Noyb files complaint against WetterOnline for ignoring information request

The Austrian privacy organization Noyb has filed a complaint with the data protection authority of North Rhine-Westphalia against WetterOnline for refusing to provide information about data that’s been processed.

Research by Netzpolitik.org and other international media showed that popular smartphone apps share location data of several hundred million Europeans with third-party companies. One of the apps that does this is WetterOnline.

WetterOnline is an app that provides weather forecasts and general information about current weather conditions in Germany. With over a hundred million downloads in the Google Play Store and the fact that it’s the most downloaded weather app in Apple’s App Store, WetterOnline is a popular app among German citizens.

According to researchers, location data and the so-called Mobile Advertising ID (MAID) -a unique identifier for each individual user- are collected from tens of thousands of users on a daily basis. This information is then sold off to hundreds of third-party companies in the advertising industry via a real-time bidding auction.

Netzpolitik.org journalist Ingo Dachwitz calls this a problem. “In the wrong hands, for example of intelligence services, stalkers or Nazis, they become a real danger,” he says.

To find out more about his location data, Dachwitz submitted an information request to WetterOnline. However, his request was instantly denied because it was considered a ‘disproportionate effort’.

“Extracting and compiling all this data would require considerable technical, personnel and financial resources,” the company told him in response.

Martin Baumann, data protection lawyer at Noyb, states that WetterOnline doesn’t mind sending users’ personal information to hundreds of advertisers. But when somebody exercises his fundamental right to data protection, the company slams the door in their face.

“The GDPR makes it clear that data subjects have the right to a copy of their data processed by a company. There is simply no exception for an allegedly ‘disproportionate effort’. WetterOnline must comply with EU law just like all other companies,” Baumann said in a statement.

On behalf of Dachwitz, Noyb has filed a complaint with the data protection authority of North Rhine-Westphalia. The advocacy group demands that WetterOnline fully complies with Dachwitz’ information request. Furthermore, to prevent similar GDPR violations in the future, Noyb is also proposing to impose an administrative penalty.

WetterOnline’s consent form and privacy policy were amended a few days ago. Now they state that GPS location data will no longer be used for advertising purposes.