The Digital Cooperation Organisation ('DCO') posted on Twitter, on 24 February 2022, a Joint Statement regarding the Terms of Service ('ToS') and Privacy Policies of Global Technology Companies. In particular, the DCO highlighted their concerns regarding changes made to global technology companies' ToS and privacy policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were undertaken without consultation with the DCO member states' residents or the national data, information, and communications regulators. More specifically, the DCO outlined that DCO member states were opposed to changes which infringe on the privacy rights of data subjects including, using personal data for purposes not reasonably linked to the purposes which the user had originally consented for, profiling user data without adequate consent, and failure to provide sufficient time for data subjects to migrate personal data.

In addition, the DCO noted that member states agreed that the companies' ToS must align with the recognised best international standards, which are reflected in respective national data protection regulations. Furthermore, the DCO encouraged global technology companies to engage in multi-stakeholder consultation with the public and relevant government organisations, when making changes to ToS and privacy policies in the future.

You can read the announcement here.