YouTube ordered to respond to SAR in full
29/08/2025 | NOYB
In a ruling with wider implications, the Austrian data protection authority (DPA) has ordered Google to provide a user with full access to their personal data on YouTube after a case that spanned over five and a half years. The complaint, filed by privacy and digital rights advocacy group NOYB in January 2019, claimed Google had failed to adequately respond to a subject access request (SAR) under Article 15 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
According to NOYB, Google only provided a fraction of the requested data and withheld information about the purpose of processing, storage periods, data recipients, and tracking cookies. In addition, Google attempted to delay the proceedings, including by trying to argue that the case should be handled by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) and by claiming the initial request was not specific enough.
The Austrian DPA's decision reaffirms that companies must answer all SARs fully and in an easily accessible format. Google now has four weeks to comply with the order, but may also appeal the decision.
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