Dixon’s US trip aimed to show Ireland no soft touch

The Data Protection Commissioner says she wants the sanctions she imposes on tech companies to have ‘precedential value’

Capitol Hill, Washington and Helen Dixon, Data Protection Commissioner

The first question for Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon from the floor at a conference in Washington DC last Thursday was short and to the point: “When are we going to see the fines?”

There has been a growing impatience over the Irish data regulator’s perceived lack of action against the big tech firms racking up weekly headlines for violating their users’ privacy. But it appears that it is about to change.

This ...