The Data Protection Commission (DPC) issued administrative fines totalling €1.55 billion last year, according to its latest annual report. The 19 finalised decisions issued by the watchdog in 2023 included a €1.2 billion fine on Meta concerning EU-US data transfers, and a €345 million
Privacy
Seán Hurley BL examines a recent EU court ruling involving TikTok owner Bytedance. Bytedance Ltd, the multinational company behind the social media app TikTok, recently sought and was denied interim relief to suspend the European Commission’s decision designating it as a gatekeeper unde
The PSNI is facing a £750,000 fine over the data breach which saw the personal information of all serving police officers and staff published online. Announcing its provisional decision yesterday, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said that, had the PSNI not been a public body, the f
Northern Ireland's High Court has listed three test cases in relation to the PSNI data breach scandal for hearing on liability only for 26 June 2024. An unprecedented PSNI data breach last year saw the names, roles and other personal details of all serving police officers and civilian staff ina
Irish business leaders do not feel prepared for the cybersecurity challenges posed by artificial intelligence, a survey by Fieldfisher suggests. The firm's survey of corporate legal advisors and senior leaders found that 54 per cent believe Ireland's cybersecurity infrastructure is not secure agains
The Court of Appeal has determined that GSOC is entitled to both types of DAR recordings in respect of investigating complaints arising from events which occurred both in the courtroom and its environs for the purpose of fulfilling its statutory duty. Delivering judgment for the Court of Appeal, Mr
Laura Cunningham of Carson McDowell highlights a recent English court ruling on data breach claims where there is little evidence of actual harm. The ruling handed down by Nicklin J in the case of Fairly and 473 others v Paymaster (1936) Limited (trading as Equiniti) [2024] EWHC 383 (KB) is an indic
Mason Hayes & Curran has published a new review of recent and upcoming developments in the cyber/data security space. The business law firm said it aimed to provide a valuable resource for industry stakeholders in an era of rapid technological and legal advancements.
Mason Hayes & Curran partner Robert McDonagh welcomes fresh clarification of the one-stop-shop test under the GPDR. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) issued an opinion on 13 February 2024 clarifying the one-stop-shop (OSS) test and, in particular, what is a “main establishment&rdqu
Increasing jurisprudence from the Court of Justice of the European Union is shedding light on Article 82 of the GDPR, write Mark D Finan BL and R. Caroline McGrath BL. Following the delivery of its first judgment concerning article 82 GDPR in May 2023 in Case C-300/21 UI v. Österreichishe Post,
Human rights organisation Liberty has claimed a "significant victory for the rights of journalists and the free press" in the UK after a seven-year legal challenge supported by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ). The UK government has agreed to introduce new safeguards to protect journalists fr
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has expanded with the appointment of Dr Des Hogan and Dale Sunderland as data protection commissioners for a five-year term. The pair will take up their roles from 20 February 2024, the day after incumbent data protection commissioner Helen Dixon steps down to jo
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) has launched a probe into the level of awareness and understanding of data protection in the sports sector. A survey questionnaire is to be issued to a representative sample of voluntary and professional clubs in a number of different sports.
Ireland is the "world's de facto data police" enforcing the lion's share of the €1.78 billion in GDPR fines imposed across Europe last year, according to new analysis by DLA Piper. The 2023 figure includes a €1.2 billion fine imposed on Meta in Ireland, which is now the highest fine ever i
The UK's Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined the Ministry of Defence (MoD) £350,000 for disclosing personal information of people seeking relocation to the UK shortly after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021. On 20 September 2021, the MoD sent an email to a dis