All Bark No Byte? Unease Over Irish Performance as EU's Lead Data Watchdog

Two years after the EU launched its landmark GDPR data rights charter, there are signs Ireland is faltering in its outsized role as regulator of many of the most powerful digital giants.


Hailed as a potent weapon to bring tech titans to heel, the General Data Protection Regulation endowed national watchdogs with cross-border powers and the possibility to impose sizeable fines for data misuse.


Ireland hosts the regional headquarters of Facebook, Apple, Google and Twitter, and is therefore largely responsible for policing their European activities.


But its Data Protection Commission has yet to issue a major decision against any of the giants in Dublin's glimmering "Silicon Docks".


"It's a blessing for Ireland economically to be the seat of these big digital companies for Europe, and that brings a lot of revenue," one EU Commission official with deep knowledge of the area told AFP.


"With this, of course, comes an obligation. With the role as a lead regulator it has a duty to the citizens all over Europe.


"The patience of the other authorities will fade if Ireland doesn't get its act together. It's as simple as that."


- 'Tax haven' -


Government and business leaders are coy but it is generally understood that multinational tech companies chose Ireland because of its low 12.5 percent corporate tax rate.


In 2018, Facebook Ireland generated 25.5 billion euros ($29 billion) in revenue and paid 63.2 million euros ($73.8 million) in tax, according to the Companies Registration Office.


Meanwhile the government coffers of Ireland -- a nation of just five million people -- are regularly padded with receipts from multinationals.


Last year, 77 percent of Irish corporation tax receipts came from foreign multinationals and 40 percent were from just 10 ..

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