The Data Protection Commission of Ireland, working as the government's watchdog, is now being sued for alleged years of inaction over complaints regarding "largest data breach ever."
Per the lawsuit, the watchdog was evasive in responding to security complaints filed against Google when the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, was passed.
DPC Sued by the ICCL
According to The Journal, the suit was accepted and will be heard by the Irish High Court. The litigation came from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, or ICCL, with John Ryan, its senior fellow, acting as the plaintiff in the case.
The issue circulated the response made by the DPC regarding a long-running complaint regarding Google's role when it came to selling off users' personal data for ads.
In addition, another issue being pressed is the lack of attention that these types of data-trading systems pay when it comes to security.
Lawsuit Circles Around DPC's Inaction Regarding 'Massive Google Data Breach'
According to the story by TechCrunch, the ICCL's lawsuit is accusing the DPC of not acting regarding a "massive Google data breach."
Recently, however, the complaints have increasingly started to point at the DPC themselves. An example of this issue can be illustrated in September 2020 when he initially published numerous pieces of evidence.
The evidence published by Ryan reportedly highlights how the online ad-targeting industry benefits from profiling intimate characteristics of users. This can be done without them being aware.
Previous Complaints Also Launched by Ryan
Ryan called out the DPC for taking no action when it came to the real-time bidding (RTB) security complaint. With that, a complaint was also filed against the European Commission which led to the EU's high level monitoring being looked at.
Following an original September 2018 complaint which was also launched by Ryan, both Google as well as IAB Europe, an online ad industry body, were named as two main players when it came to the RTB system.
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Government Decided to Open 'Own Volition Inquiry'
Ireland only opened a formal inquiry when it came to the adtech of Google in May 2019. According to the allegations, however, the government did not open an inquiry despite the initial substance shown in the complaints filed by Ryan in 2018.
Instead, the government decided to open its "own volition inquiry" noting that they will be looking to establish as to whether or not personal data was carried out at different stages of the ad transaction. To add, the government will also decide whether or not it was compliant with the GDPR provisions.
The DPC also noted that the inquiry they launched would be interrogating Google's role when it came to the RTB using a security-focused perspective. This is despite Ryan's complaints being, at core, "a system that functions by broadcasting what can be highly sensitive data about people."
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Written by Urian B.
