The Data Protection Commission (DPC) said it has been engaging with Sky on the company’s efforts to clampdown on so-called TV ‘dodgy boxes’.
These are devices used to illegally stream content such as sports and movies.
The DPC’s contact with Sky relates to the company’s use of personal data to take action against illegal streaming.
“There are legitimate reasons why companies might decide that they want to take action against fraud,” said DPC Chairperson Dr Des Hogan.
“However, the use of personal data would be the question for us, and whether that’s been done in an appropriate, ethical manner.
“We have been in engaging with Sky for some time, and we’re going to be meeting them in two weeks time, and I expect that we’ll be bringing things forward with them at that point in time.
“Any sharing of personal data, or processing of that personal data outside a company has to be done in a lawful manner under the GDPR,” Dr Hogan said.
“So that will be the focus of our discussions, and has been the focus of our discussions with Sky and we’re hopeful we’ll see a successful landing point from those discussions,” he added.
Sky said that it has been engaging with the DPC on this issue for some time.
“We look forward to continuing our discussions with them on this important matter,” a spokesperson said.
DPC engaging with WhatsApp on ads
WhatsApp announced this week that it will begin rolling out advertising features on the messaging app.
The Data Protection Commissioner said his office is engaging with the company on the matter, and that the ads will not be rolled out in the European Union until 2026.
“We have been engaging with WhatsApp and we will be engaging with WhatsApp during the year, with our with our fellow European data protection regulators,” Dr Hogan said.
“It’s an ongoing conversation and if we have concerns, we will, of course, talk to WhatsApp about that.
“We’ve only been informed that they that they are going to roll this out in 2026 so it is very, very early in terms of keeping an eye on that,” he added.
Doorbell cameras a challenge
The Data Protection Commission said there has been an increase in complaints relating to domestic CCTV and doorbell cameras.
“I think obviously there’s awareness of what CCTV does, doorbell cameras, perhaps not the same consciousness. It’s an ongoing challenge for the DPC in dealing with these issues,” said Dale Sunderland, Data Protection Commissioner.
“The bottom line is the case law. The European courts are very clear here that if the cameras point into public areas and capture people in public spaces, those individuals who operate them are subject to data protection requirements,” Mr Sunderland said.
The DPC said it will be soon be developing additional guidance for the public on domestic CCTV and doorbell cameras.
Increase in data breaches last year
There was increase in the number of data breach notifications received by the DPC last year.
According to its annual report for 2024, the DPC received 7,781 valid data breaches last year, which was an 11% increase 2023.
50% of notified cases arose as a result of correspondence being sent to the wrong recipient.
In keeping with the trend of previous years, public sector bodies and banks accounted for the top ten organisations with the highest number of breach notifications recorded against them.
Insurance and telecom companies featured prominently in the top 20.
The DPC issued 11 finalised inquiry decisions resulting in administrative fines totalling €652 million during 2024.
Significant decisions included a fine of €310 million imposed on LinkedIn, and fines totalling €251 million for Meta.
Since the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018, the DPC has imposed fines of more than €4 billion on big tech firms.
Just €20 million of that has been paid, as most of the rulings are under appeal.
Last year, the DPC received 11,091 new cases from individuals and concluded 10,510 cases.
The commission said that so far this year, there has been a 17% increase in complaints.
Also in 2024, the DPC led efforts to provide greater clarity to the application of data protection requirements in artificial intelligence (AI) model training and development.
Public attitudes survey
To coincide with the publication of its 2024 Annual Report, the Data Protection Commission has also released the results of an independent public attitudes survey.
The research showed that almost three-quarters of respondents believe it to be either quite or very important that organisations designing, developing or using innovative new technologies, products and services comply with data protection requirements, even if it might mean a delay in implementation.
When asked about concerns around technology and data protection, 77% of respondents said they were concerned with how children’s personal data is being shared and used online.
A similar number said they were concerned with how personal data is used to create a digital profile of themselves which could can be shared, sold or traded.
61% of people said were concerned about the use of AI.
The DPC’s engagement with Sky was first reported by the Irish Independent.
