Irish Panel to Pick Privacy Regulator With Global Reach
In the coming weeks, an Irish government committee is set to pick the country’s new data privacy regulator, a relatively obscure position but one with global sway.
The five-person panel of civil servants and privacy experts will choose a data protection commissioner, who will have a large say in how Internet giants including Facebook and Apple use online information from roughly a billion users.
That is because the regulator has the power to police any company based in Ireland, and over the past two decades many of the world’s largest technology companies have moved their international headquarters there, in large part because of the country’s low corporate tax rates.
“Ireland’s data protection watchdog has found itself responsible for protecting the data of a large part of the world’s population,” said Daragh O’Brien, an Irish data protection expert in Dublin.
Their role will become even more important once the European Union finishes new privacy rules next year that will strengthen the Irish regulator’s position as the first port of call for many privacy complaints against American technology companies.
“The commission is not up to the test,” said Joe McNamee, executive director of European Digital Rights, a privacy group in Brussels. “What’s needed is someone with sharp elbows to stand up to companies with a loud voice.”
Source: NYT
Related Posts
Apple faces investigation over GDPR compliance
Belgian watchdog takes Facebook to court over privacy concerns- Europe’s new privacy law will change the web and more
- GDPR close to one year anniversary; Has lived up to its potential?
Facebook’s transfer of European Union users’ data to the United States – Court ordered investigation
