Austria Orders YouTube too Comply with Data Access Requests
Vienna, Austria – September 1, 2025 – Austria’s Data Protection Authority has ruled against Google LLC (YouTube) following a complaint filed by privacy advocacy group Noyb (None of Your business) on behalf of an Austrian user, ordering the platform to grant users access to the data it holds on them and facts regarding its usage. The decision marks a victory for data privacy advocates who have long argued that major online platforms routinely obstruct users’ rights under the European union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
the complaint, lodged in 2019, alleged “structural violations” of EU data regulations by YouTube and other streaming services, including Netflix. Noyb argued that the companies failed to adequately respond to user requests for data access, hindering their ability to exercise rights such as data erasure or rectification.
According to Noyb, the regulator confirmed the decision against YouTube on Friday. Google now has four weeks to comply with the ruling or appeal it.”Making an access request should enable (users) to exercise… rights,such as the right to erasure or rectification” of their data,” Noyb stated,adding that lengthy delays render those rights “unfeasible” to enact. The group expressed regret that it took “five and a half years” for the authority to reach a decision.
Google has not yet responded to a request for comment.Noyb has been actively pursuing legal action against US technology companies, including Meta (Facebook and Instagram), over GDPR violations, filing over 800 complaints across various jurisdictions on behalf of internet users. The GDPR, a landmark EU regulation, grants individuals greater control over their personal data and imposes obligations on organizations that collect and process it.