. World News – USA – Twitter data breach decision on Jan.. Due December: Irish Data Regulatory Authority

04-12-2020
(Updated:
04-12-2020
)

Irish Data Commissioner Helen Dixon told an audience at the Web Summit that discussions with other EU data protection authorities were marked by « high levels of disputes ». « [Fortune Global [Flikr]

Despite « very different views » between the EU data protection authorities regarding a case of data protection breaches by Twitter,. December a final decision on the block’s first major online cross-border privacy case will be released.

Irish Data Commissioner Helen Dixon said on Thursday (Jan.. December) that talks with other EU data protection authorities were marked by “high-level disputes” over a final decision on Twitter’s punishment after disclosing a bug in its 2019 Android app. The bug had resulted in some Twitter users’ protected tweets being published.

Ireland is the European home of a number of US technology companies. This makes the data authority the leading regulatory authority in the EU within the scope of the “One Stop Shop” mechanism of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which enables companies to carry out cross-border data processing and falls within the remit of a data controller.

Twitter may be the first major tech company to be fined by the lead EU regulator under the region’s stricter data protection laws after telling other member states a preliminary ruling in an investigation into the social media company.

In May, the Irish Data Protection Commission sent a preliminary ruling in its investigation into the practices of Twitter to the social media company as well as other member states that were allowed to object to the decision due to the cross-border nature of the case.

For their part, EU national authorities raised concerns about the preliminary position and forced the Irish regulator to rely on the GDPR dispute settlement procedure.

« I presented a draft decision to my co-decision-makers in May and these authorities have raised a number of objections to my decision, » Dixon said Thursday.

« Since the objections were in conflict in a number of cases, I was unable to resolve them and therefore had to resort to the dispute settlement mechanism of the GDPR, which means that the European Data Protection Authority has stepped in and settled the dispute. ”

The European Data Protection Board, the EU’s umbrella data protection authority, has ruled on the case to address concerns of national authorities regarding the Irish Data Protection Authority’s draft decision.

Regarding the process of tackling the first major cross-border data protection breach in the EU, Dixon also expressed frustration at the « complexity » of coordinating with other EU data protection authorities.

« Am I satisfied? No, the process didn’t work very well, ”said Dixon. “On the other hand, it is the first time that EU data protection authorities have gone through the process. Maybe things can only get better from here. ”

The sanction rules under the GDPR allow regulators to enforce fines for violations of up to 4% of a company’s global turnover or 20 million euros, whichever is higher.

In an open letter, the online data protection activist Max Schrems criticized the handling of a complaint against the social media giant Facebook by the Irish Data Protection Commission and called on the European Union to intervene. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Now more than ever, we need unbiased expert information on how and why the European Union works. This information should not be behind a paywall, and we continue to strive to provide our content for free.

We know our readers value our coverage, and the support we’ve received since the crisis began shows that our readers are ready to advocate the journalism they trust and value. We’re seeing record breaking interest in our journalism as our page views tripled. At the same time, the support of the readers in the form of recurring monthly financial contributions continuously supports our work and enables us to innovate.

We are more confident than ever that we can connect media, politics and the public. And we thank you for your support.

Your recurring monthly financial contributions help us develop innovations for the future. Please consider making a recurring contribution to the EURACTIV Media Network for Europe.

Efficacité et Transparence des Acteurs Européens 1999-2018.
EURACTIV MEDIA NETWORK BV.
|
Terms and Conditions
|
Privacy Policy
|
Contact us

Efficacité et Transparence des Acteurs Européens 1999-2018.
EURACTIV MEDIA NETWORK BV.
|
Terms and Conditions
|
Privacy Policy
|
Contact us

General Data Protection Regulation, Data Protection Violation, European Union, Decision Making, Data Protection