Is this really different from chrome sending data to google, edge to microsoft or safari to apple?
China requires all companies to hand them data whenever they want. In the West, there is at least a semblance of proper reason required for the law enforcement to demand your data.
I don't think that US government maintains a database of all the data of all the users of all US companies. But, for China, I would say, that is a non-zero amount of possibility.
Beyond usage data, there is telemetry in PC, and much more tracking is possible in android apps.
I had tracked Opera, Chrome, Brave, DDG, Bromite, and FF through both Tracker Control [0] and DDG's tracking monitoring in beta. Opera fairs much worse, and many shoddy, dark companies come up.
I am not a security specialist, but my advice would be to stay as far away from Chinese products as possible- in this case- Opera.
[0]: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.kollnig.missioncontrol.f...
> In 2016, Opera was acquired by an investment group led by a Chinese consortium.
The new Opera likes to promote their Norwegian roots everywhere, but it is very much a Chinese business with an overseas office.
The laws themselves exist to a certain extent, but the government places itself above the law in ways that aren't acceptable inside the EU and the other states who implemented the GDPR.
This is because Europe is not part of the USA, which means the protections against tyrannical government interference don't apply; those protections only apply to Americans.
(You expected detail, to further argue/troll with?)
PS: I'm EU citizen and, according to the Schrems II verdict, US laws are absolutely inadequate when speaking about personal data and privacy.
In any comparison of this sort, an often forgotten fact is that the US and EEA/EU countries are long-time allies, having a long tradition of mutual help and cooperation. Whereas China is led by genocidal, totalitarian, communist rulers.
Look, as an EU citizen, I was disappointed by Snowden's revelations, too. But there is no equivalence.
It says that US intelligence agency can access data of any EU citizen without any authorization or control from the citizens or any EU authority.
More or less the same thing that Cina can do, the difference is that they have far fewer data.
> Look, as an EU citizen, I was disappointed by Snowden's revelations, too. But there is no equivalence.
Snowden was only the tip of the iceberg, what's happening nowadays with cloud/SaaS it's far more big and complex, and can only get worse.
And for example the CCP has begun retaliating against foreigners and companies for speaking against China's interests. They also look more and more likely to aid Russia in their European aggression, possibly because they are looking to start an invasion on their own in Taiwan. This means that their espionage efforts in Europe and elsewhere are increasing, and the outcome of CCP's espionage, much like Russia's espionage, may have a direct effect on our well-being. At least until the Russian invasion isn't settled and until they don't back off from Taiwan.
China was also caught repeatedly for having engaged in industrial espionage at an unforseen scale. And no matter what other countries or companies did in the past, it's always best to focus on present dangers. Europe cannot afford to lose all its trade secrets to China, given the danger to its industries (e.g., auto). Organizations should think hard about allowing access to sensitive data from devices that also have TikTok installed.
People have a skewed perception of how WW2 happened. Its historical start date is almost arbitrary, because in truth WW2 started with isolated conflicts that only grew in intensity over time, slowly.
In times like these, it's best to stick with our allies. Also, countries like Germany should do well to diversify their imports, because otherwise the EU will suffer just like we suffered from the hiked energy prices. And then maybe the US won't be available to help like they did with LNG exports.
Again, there is no equivalence between US and China for Europeans. One is a working democracy under the rule of law and a long-time partner, the other is not.
PS: just to be clear, I'm mentioning countries, but I have nothing against their citizens. My country once was a totalitarian hell hole too, and I know fully well that in totalitarianism the state stops representing the "will of the people".