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.
Adding to that, the acquired company isn't even the original Opera Software. They divested of their browser, sold it to a Chinese consortium, and changed their name to Otello to focus on their ad business.
The new Opera likes to promote their Norwegian roots everywhere, but it is very much a Chinese business with an overseas office.
The problem with the USA isn't actually the lack of data protection itself, that can be handled through contract law. The problem is the lack of protection from the US government through the PATRIOT ACT and its successors.
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.
The “Schrems II verdict” does not say that US's data protections are “absolutely inadequate”, whatever that means. What it says is that US's protections are not equivalent, but guess what that says about China.
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.
China is not governed by the "rule of law". If the CCP wants something, the CCP gets. In the US, the government can coerce US companies with handing over data, but they need a warrant, they have limits on what they can do with that data, and they can be sued. Ofc, the Obama administration infamously said that non-citizens have no rights, but that's not entirely true, as there are strong trade agreements between US and Europe, including the "Privacy Shield" attempt. And the US has the freedom of the press, once a news is out, it's out.
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".
