Cyber Attack: Think You're Immune? Think Again

Ireland's Data Protection Commission received a record 16,160 new cases in 2025, marking a 45% increase from the previous year, while imposing over €530 million in administrative fines. The Commission finalized four major inquiries, with the TikTok decision accounting for €530 million of the total penalties, and concluded 208 cross-border complaints as Lead Supervisory Authority.

The European Commission has issued interpretive guidelines on Article 50 of the AI Act, clarifying transparency obligations for emotion recognition systems, biometric categorization, and deepfake content.

The EU Data Act, which became applicable on 12 September 2025, fundamentally reshapes how businesses handle data generated by connected devices and related services. With Ireland's General Scheme published in February 2026 designating ComReg and CCPC as enforcement authorities, companies must now assess their compliance obligations across data sharing frameworks, contractual terms, and user access rights or face significant fines.

The European Union's Data Act introduces a groundbreaking "access by design" requirement that fundamentally changes how manufacturers must approach product development for connected devices and IoT products. From September 2026, businesses placing connected products on the EU market must ensure users can directly access their generated data by default, shifting data accessibility from a reactive request-based model to a proactive design imperative.

The European Data Protection Board's 2025 Annual Report reveals significant developments in EU data protection enforcement and regulatory cooperation. With approximately €1.15 billion...

Today the European Commission published its much anticipated decision on the new standard contractual clauses ("SCCs") for the transfer of personal data from the European Union to third countries, and the template SCCs.

On 17 December 2024, the European Data Protection Board ("EDPB"), following a first of its kind request from the Data Protection Commission ("DPC") under Article 64(2) of the GDPR...

The Irish High Court has clarified the scope of statutory exemptions under the Data Protection Act 2018, ruling that organisations can legitimately refuse data subject access requests when legal privilege, client confidentiality, or litigation interests are at stake. This landmark decision establishes clear boundaries between different exemption provisions and confirms their compatibility with GDPR Article 23, providing much-needed guidance for organisations navigating complex disclosure obligations.

On 19 November 2025, the European Commission published its draft Digital Omnibus Regulations (EU Regulations 2025/0360 and 2025/0359).

The European Court of Justice's Advocate General has delivered an opinion suggesting that the proportionality of data retention regimes should be assessed not only by the categories of data retained, but also by the technical arrangements surrounding that retention. This opinion raises questions about whether Ireland's 2022 Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Act provides sufficiently...