27 April 2021 (updated with video on 17 May 2021)
The Oireachtas Justice Committee will tonight hear that the Data Protection Commission (DPC) has failed to enforce the GDPR, creating an acute risk for democracy. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties’ Dr Johnny Ryan will provide evidence that the biggest data breach ever recorded is happening and continuing to happen because of DPC inaction.
Dr Ryan said
“It has been almost three years since I first brought the open secret known as Real Time Bidding to the attention of the DPC. Real time bidding is the illegal data auction that occurs every time any of us visit a website or use an app. It’s the reason we see ads and can’t fathom how advertisers can know such intimate secrets about us.”
In the three years since Ryan’s complaint, the DPC has allowed this illegal practice to continue unabated. This allows data brokers, and political groups, to gather highly sensitive and legally protected information about us all – such as our sexuality, location and political views – which can be used to manipulate us. For this reason, it is very welcome that all political parties will soon have to answer questions on their political advertising practices. Already we have seen evidence of electoral manipulation in Europe.
Dr Ryan will also testify that the DPC’s inaction could have disastrous economic consequences for Ireland. A draft Bill in the US Senate may penalise Ireland for the DPC’s enforcement failure. If enforcement is deemed inadequate, Ireland may face the loss of international tech companies which employ thousands of people in Dublin.
Privacy is a bedrock right from which many other rights flow, including freedom of expression, religion, and association, as well as the secret ballot. Surveillance can lead to changes in behaviour and our own information can be used to manipulate us. People must be free to go about their lives both online and off without fear of being observed or monitored.
ENDS/
Watch the Justice Committee session from 6:30pm on 27 April here: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-tv/oireachtas-tv-channel/
More information on Real Time Bidding: https://www.iccl.ie/what-is-real-time-bidding/
Dr Johnny Ryan’s opening statement: https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ICCL-Opening-Statement-GDPR-Oireachtas-Justice-Committee.pdf
Full submission to the Justice Committee: https://www.iccl.ie/digital-data/economic-reputational-risk-of-the-dpcs-failure-to-uphold-eu-data-rights/
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is Ireland’s oldest independent human rights campaigning organisation. We monitor, educate and campaign to secure human rights for everyone in Ireland.
For comment: Dr Johnny Ryan
For media queries: sinead.nolan@iccl.ie