Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the guests and acknowledge their contributions so far.

On 25 May, a significant milestone, not alone in Ireland but in Europe, will occur with the introduction of the general data protection regulation, GDPR. This will involve a considerable amount of work in how actual data will be protected. One significant point about this legislation concerns fines. In some cases, a fine can be 20% of a platform’s gross turnover, which could be an enormous sum. The commissioner spoke about going through a process with the platforms and litigation is the least likely one she would pursue. However, if an issue went into litigation and it was to receive a maximum fine, what would that mean to the actual platform involved? Does the commissioner feel the fines are so large that she will be tied up in the legal process because the platform cannot afford to lose? Will we have a drawn-out situation of seven years of litigation because of the significant amounts of money that could be involved?