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Articles by Rowena McCormack
Authority of European Data Protection Board to order new investigations clarified by EU General Court
Overview Data Protection Commission v European Data Protection Board (In Joined Cases T-70/23, T-84/23 and T111/23) The General Court of the European Union has issued a ruling clarifying the authority of the European Data Protection Board to compel lead supervisory authorities to open new investigations in certain circumstances.
Changing of the Guard: Transformation at the Irish Data Protection Commission
The departure of Helen Dixon in February 2024 from her role Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner marks the end of an era in data and privacy regulation across the European Union. During Ms Dixon's 10-year tenure she has overseen the Irish rollout of the GDPR as well as levying some of the largest fines against the worlds biggest internet platforms. Indeed, some 27 fines issued by Ms Dixon totalled nearly €3bn with the vast majority of these fines being issued against tech multinationals.
'Pay or ok' challenged as ad-free subscription models under scrutiny
Overview 'Pay or okay' consent mechanisms in the European Union are under scrutiny from data protection authorities and consumer activists. For those unfamiliar, 'pay or okay' mechanisms allow users of services such as Facebook to pay a subscription not to be shown advertisements. If they elect not to pay, then in order to use the service, the user consents to the processing of their data for advertising purposes. But can consent be freely given if the alternative involves a payment?
EDPB imposes EEA-wide ban on Meta processing personal data for behavioural advertising
Meta has been banned from processing personal data for behavioural advertising across the European Economic Area. In early November, the European Data Protection Board issued an instruction to the Irish Data Protection Commission to issue a permanent ban on Meta processing personal data for behavioural advertising on the legal bases of contract and legitimate interest. Behavioural advertising involves the use of targeted ads based on online habits such as website browsing.
Agreement reached by EU on new European Data Act
On 27 June 2023, it was announced that European Council and Parliament policymakers had reached agreement on the provisions of the proposed European Data Act ("the Data Act"). The Data Act is a new regulation which will establish harmonised rules governing making data generated by the use of a product or related service available to the product / service user, to data recipients and to public bodies for public interest purposes where there is an exceptional need.
On the increase: Non-Material Loss in Ireland
In one of the first written judgements in Ireland regarding non-material damage under the GDPR, the Dublin District Court awarded €2,000 compensation to a plaintiff regarding the use of CCTV footage of him by his employer which resulted in slagging by colleagues, serious embarrassment and sleep loss. In Arkaiusz Kaminski v Ballymaguire Foods Limited, CCTV footage was shown to various employees as part of a meeting between the quality control and other managers and supervisors.
Legislation providing for significant reforms of civil procedure now in force | Lexology
United Kingdom
November 30 2020 The Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 (the “Act”) has recently come into operation and has heralded a number of significant changes to existing civil procedure in Ireland. While many of these measures had been in the pipeline for some time, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has brought forward their introduction.
Large fines imposed for GDPR breaches | Lexology
United Kingdom
November 30 2020 In October 2020, three of the largest ever fines for breaches of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) were imposed by data protection authorities in the EU. In Germany, the Data Protection Authority of Hamburg fined H&M €35.3m, while in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office (“the ICO”) fined British Airways and Marriott International, €22m and €20.45m respectively.
Supreme Court decision outlines that Public Bodies must justify refusals under Freedom of Information Act | Lexology
United Kingdom November 30 2020 In two recent judgments regarding the application of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (“FOI Act”), the Supreme Court has ruled that public bodies are required to justify refusals to disclose confidential or commercially sensitive documents pursuant to an FOI request (Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources v the Information Commissioner [2020] IESC 57 [59]), (“the ENET case”) and University College Cork v the Information Commissioner...
The importance of Expert Witnesses being independent and owing their principal duties to the Court | Lexology
Ireland
November 30 2020 The recent High Court judgment of McKillen v Tynan [2020] IEHC 189 dismissed judicial review proceedings on grounds including that: (i) the Applicant’s two expert witnesses were not qualified to give evidence as experts in the proceedings; and (ii) even if they were, the expert witnesses were not suitably independent meaning that their evidence had “no weight given their patent desire to advance a case made by Mr McKillen”.
Court of Appeal upholds High Court decision to dismiss Ryanair defamation action | Lexology
Introduction In its recent decision in Ryanair DAC and Another v Van Zwol and Others [2020] IECA 105, the Court of Appeal refused an appeal by Ryanair against the dismissal of defamation proceedings arising from the publication by the Ryanair Pilots Group (RPG) of an email bulletin to pilots employed by Ryanair, which the airline contended was defamatory and insinuated that it had manipulated the market for its shares.
Clarification of Limitation Periods in Property Damage Claims
In the recent decision in Brandley and WJB Developments v Deane and Ors, the Supreme Court ruled that in property damage cases, for the purposes of the Statute of Limitations, the cause of action accrues on the date on which the defect in question commences causing loss, rather than the date on which the defective work was completed. For the purposes of the law of tort in Ireland, in general terms.
Commercial Court rejects legal challenge to proposed Apple data centre in Galway
In October 2017, the Commercial Court dismissed a judicial review application which sought to quash An Bord Pleanala's decision to grant the Apple technology company planning permission for the construction of a data storage centre together with an electricity substation and associated infrastructure on a site near Athenry, County Galway. In April 2015, Apple had originally sought consent from Galway County Council for the development of the initial phase of its plans for the Athenry site.
Data breach floodgates?
A recent landmark UK High Court decision found the supermarket chain Morrisons vicariously liable for the actions of a disgruntled employee who published the payroll information of nearly 100,000 employees on the internet in 2014. This decision, coupled with the fact the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") will provide a right to compensation for non-material damage, has prompted organisations everywhere to consider what they need to do to mitigate against the risk of such claims.
Confirmation from the Court of Appeal that a receiver may be appointed over debtor's legal interest in property to satisfy outstanding judgment
In ACC Loan Management Limited -v- Rickard [2017] IECA 245, the Court of Appeal ruled on two important aspects of the High Court's jurisdiction to appoint a receiver by way of equitable execution over the property of a judgment debtor.
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