Data Protection Litigation – An Irish Perspective

Is the GDPR likely to lead to a deluge of complaints and litigation by claimants who allege their data protection rights have been infringed?  Matheson Intellectual Property Partner Deirdre Kilroy looks at the likely impact, through an Irish lens, in this month’s Law Society Gazette.

At a glance

• There has been a significant number of notifications to the Data Protection Commission in Ireland since 25 May 2018
• Practitioners will see activity in data protection litigation increasing significantly
• Data subjects can authorise a not-for-profit organisation to lodge DP complaints on their behalf and to act on their behalf in breaches of DP laws
• Collective action mechanisms will assist data subjects to instigate litigation and to access legal assistance and knowledge in a novel way in Ireland