The security computer company Avast disagrees with a fine of 351 million crowns from the Office for the Protection of Personal Data (ÚOOÚ) and is considering further steps, including an administrative lawsuit. The record fine relates to the transfer of non-anonymized data on around 100 million users to Avast subsidiary Jumpshot. Avast shut it down in early 2020. The company stated this in a statement to ČTK.
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8:37 a.m. April 16, 2024 Share on Facebook
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Anti-virus users were wrongly informed by Avast about the transfer of anonymous data for the purpose of trend analysis, said ÚOOÚ | Source: Avast
Avast processed the personal data of users of the anti-virus program of the same name and its extension for Internet browsers.
He gave some of the data in the investigated part of 2019 to his Jumpshot division, which presented itself as a company making data available to marketers, providing them with insight into the online behavior of consumers.
Avast was fined 351 million CZK in the Czech Republic. He gave the personal data of about 100 million users to the subsidiary
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Users of the antivirus program were wrongly informed by Avast about the transfer of anonymous data for the purpose of trend analysis, the ÚOOÚ said. The fine is final and is the highest the authority has ever issued.
“The decision of the ÚOOÚ concerns former activities involving the processing of personal data by Jumpshot, a subsidiary that Avast voluntarily closed in January 2020. Avast disagrees with the decision and description of the facts of the ÚOOÚ and is considering further steps, including an administrative lawsuit.”
“Avast continues to affirm its commitment to protecting the data and privacy of its users and proactively takes steps to protect privacy as a top priority. At the same time, it continues to be an active member of global organizations and initiatives focused on the protection of personal data,” Avast said in a statement.
In the decision, the authority emphasized that Avast is one of the leading experts in cyber security, offering the public tools to protect data and privacy.
Avast must pay a fine in the US. He obtained and sold user data through the Czech subsidiary company
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Its customers could not expect that this particular company would pass on their personal data, or data on the basis of which not only their identity could be ascertained, but also, for example, their interests, preferences, place of residence, assets, profession and other data related to their privacy.
Due to the handling of users’ personal data, Avast has a problem not only in the Czech Republic, but also in the United States.
At the end of this February, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) informed that Avast must pay a fine of 16.5 million dollars (over CZK 393 million) in the United States and stop selling user data for advertising purposes.
According to the US commission, the company misrepresented how it used user data about browsing the Internet. The company then sold the information obtained in this way without appropriate notification or consent.
The Avast brand is part of the Gen Digital company, which was created in 2022 by the merger of Avast and the American company NortonLifeLock.
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