The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced it's making progress on investigations into major social media companies thought to have violated the EU's General Data Protection Regulation. This includes procedures against Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook.
The case against Twitter has progressed the furthest. The inquiry has been completed and a draft decision on Twitter's compliance with the GDPR after data breaches was sent to the EU's other data protection regulators for comment. The Irish regulator acts as the authority for all of Twitter's activities in the EU, as the company's European headquarters is in Ireland.
In addition, a preliminary draft decision was sent to WhatsApp Ireland for the company's final response. This case looks at whether WhatsApp violated the GDPR by not disclosing fully to uses that it was sharing their personal data with its parent company Facebook.
The DPC's investigation into Facebook, over whether it obtained the proper consent from users for processing their personal data, also continues. The regulator said this inquiry is in the decision-making phase.
The DPC said it has also sent draft inquiry reports to the complainants and companies concerned in two further “big tech” inquiries, concerning Instagram and WhatsApp. More details on these complaints were not disclosed.
Finally, the benchmark case against Facebook brought by the Austrian activist Max Schrems will be heard at the European Court of Justice on 16 July, the DPC said. Schrems has accused Facebook of violating EU privacy law by sending data on users to the US where they may be subject to state surveillance. The case looks at whether Facebook's use of model contract clauses to authorise the data transfers complies with the GDPR.
The statement comes two years after the GDPR first took effect in the EU. Schrems published a letter sent to EU authorities calling for them to do more to enforce the regulation. The Irish regulator, which has authority for many of the big tech companies, especially needs to improve its work practices, the activist said.
