19 July 2022
In a letter today to EU Commission President von der Leyen, the EU Ombudsman has said that the Commission’s June 2022 reply to inquiries arising from an ICCL complaint to the Ombudsman are not satisfactory. The complaint relates to ICCL’s belief that Ireland’s application of the GDPR is inadequate and that the EU has not done enough to ensure data rights are being protected. The Ombudsman has requested a further detailed response from the Commission. In her letter to the Commission, the Ombudsman also raises important questions about the quality of information and statistics available about how the Irish Data Protection Commission exercises its powers.
ICCL made a formal complaint to the EU Ombudsman in November 2021 that the EU was not doing enough to make sure data rights under GDPR are being adequately enforced. ICCL’s complaint followed an ICCL research report on the deficiencies of GDPR enforcement against Big Tech in September 2021 that led to headlines across Europe, and unsuccessful attempts by ICCL to secure action from European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders on the issue.
Ireland is the “lead supervisory authority” under the GDPR for Big Tech firms who have their European headquarters in Ireland. No other enforcer in the EU can intervene if the Irish Data Protection Commission asserts its lead role in cases against big tech firms headquartered in Ireland. Ireland’s failure to uphold the GDPR therefore exposes the entire Union to hazard.
ICCL Executive Director Liam Herrick speaking today said:
Today’s letter indicates that not only that the EU Ombudsman recognises the seriousness of ICCL’s complaint, but also that she is not satisfied with the information received from the Commission to date. She is now raising very fundamental questions about the information that is available on how data rights are being protected in Ireland and across Europe.
The deadline for the Commission to reply to the Ombudsman is 30 September.
ENDS/
Notes:
For more information on ICCL’s complaint to the Ombudsman https://www.iccl.ie/news/iccl-launches-european-ombudsman-complaint-against-european-commissions-failure-to-take-ireland-to-court-over-the-gdpr/
For media queries: grace.tierney@iccl.ie