Ms Helen Dixon:

There have not been delays in enforcement under the general data protection regulation, GDPR. This regime is 18 months old. As an individual data protection authority, we have handled 11,000 user complaints, many of which have been in respect of the platforms where individuals have tried to exercise rights. We have intervened and ensured this has happened. We have also prosecuted several companies in the last 12 months for e-privacy regulation infringements. We have 29 litigation cases in the Irish courts at the moment. Mr. Rotenberg referred to the Schrems I case earlier. We have brought forward what is referred to as the Schrems II case in the meantime. There has been a hearing on the critical issue of transfers of EU personal data to the US this summer. It is pending the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union. It is a mistake to say there has been no enforcement but I think the Representative is referring to the fact that there has not yet been an outcome to the large-scale investigations into the big tech platforms which are currently under way on lawfulness, transparency, privacy by design, default and so on. Eighteen months is not a long time and not all of the investigations have been open for 18 months. We must follow due process or we will not secure the outcome in the end. As these companies have market power and have the resources to litigate forever, we have to make sure we follow due process and allow them a right to be heard. We conclude the legal analysis carefully by applying the principles of the GDPR to the scenarios at issue, and then we can hope to deliver the outcomes that the GDPR promises. That work is under way. We could not be working on it more diligently. The first set of decisions will start rolling out in the very near future.