On August 14, 2024, the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection (the Poverenik) raised concerns about Meta Platforms, Inc., and X Corp.'s handling of personal data in Serbia and Europe. The Poverenik highlighted that Meta's new privacy policy, which took effect on June 26, 2024, will apply to Serbian users of platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. The policy involves processing personal data of users for the development and improvement of artificial intelligence (AI) without notifying Serbian users. Similar concerns were raised regarding unauthorized data processing for the purpose of developing and improving AI without notice to the territory of the whole of Europe by X Corp. and Twitter International Unlimited Company.

In response, the Poverenik highlighted that it will be taking the following steps:

• contact the companies in the U.S. to remind them of their legal obligation to appoint representatives in Serbia, ensuring Serbian citizens receive the same protections as EU citizens;
• engage with the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), which oversees Meta and X (formerly known as Twitter) in Europe; and
• approach the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to coordinate efforts, given that Serbia's data protection laws align with EU regulations.

Additionally, the Poverenik noted a regional meeting is planned for September 4, 2024, bringing together data protection officials from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. The goal is to develop a joint strategy to address these data privacy challenges effectively.

You can read the press release, only available in Serbian, here.