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JUST A TINY fraction of the €3.26 billion in fines levied by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) over the past five years has been collected.
The DPC said that of all fines issued between 2020 and the end of October this year, only €19.9 million of the total has been paid so far.
The total amount paid represents just 0.6% of the penalties decided on by the DPC, most of which relate to Big Tech. Many of the fines are still subject of court appeals or other legal processes.
Figures released under Freedom of Information laws show €785,000 in fines levied in 2020, of which €75,000 has been paid. For 2021, there was a total of €225 million in fines with only €800,000 of that settled so far.
In 2022, DPC fines exceeded €1 billion; however, the amount collected for that year currently stands at €17.6 million.
Last year, the total fines levied reached a colossal €1.55 billion, which included a €1.2 billion fine for Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
Of that total, only €815,000 has so far been collected by the Data Protection Commission.
Figures for this year covering the period up until the end of October show that fines totalling €401 million have been levied by the DPC. Many of those cases are not long concluded and the only money collected so far has been €582,500.
Asked whether any of the €3.256 billion in fines had been written off or deemed uncollectable, the Data Protection Commission said that none of it had.
The DPC said when they decided to impose an administrative fine on a data controller or processor, it did not become payable until the decision had been confirmed by the Circuit Court.
A spokesman said the process required them to make a formal application to the courts to have each decision confirmed.
He said: “The Circuit Court is required to confirm the decision unless it sees good reason not to do so. Once the decision has been confirmed, the DPC may then proceed to issue a formal notice to the data controller or processor […] to require payment of the fine.”
However, these applications can only be made if the company or person fined had not invoked their statutory right of appeal.
“In these circumstances, it is only in those cases where the data controller or processor has not sought to bring a legal challenge against the underlying decision that the DPC has been able to make the confirmation application and collect in the fine,” he said.
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If it was a parking ticket you would be hounded for payment
@Big Haus: and personal tax….. Shows you where their priorities lie!
@Big Haus: Lots of them unpaid too
It’s much easier to tax the bejasus out of the working person than chase the big boys.
If you didn’t pay the TV tax you were turfed into jail.
@David Corrigan: Not true
Sorry… Am I misreading the final bits of this article? Am I to understand, that the fined only have to appeal the fine and the fine is shelved? The DPC doesn’t pursue the fined in circuit court?
@Seriously Really: It seems to mean that the appeals process has to be exhausted before the DPC can collect.
@Seriously Really: Yes, you are misreading.
FFG where always brilliant at looking after their wealthy friends. Imagine how much misery could be ended building houses if these fines were collected
Here is another lesson/example for Simon Harris around disaffection with Irish Politics. Ordinary people who were always Tax Compliant, who refused to pay their TV Licence on foot of the Lies, Misinformation & Corporate Fraud by RTE, were given Criminal Records & in some instances jailed for taking a stance & not paying their TV Licence, but hey if your a mega multinational Digital behemoth, you don’t even have to pay the Fine & you escape scot free. Another example is young Burke, whom I don’t agree with all his ideology, but he has been incarcerated now for nearly two years over Pronouns & refusing to back down, but big business escapes any punishment. Time to start listening & learning Simon or the Monk will get elected.
Is there interest/penalties incurred for those who lose appeals. This would halt the more frivolous stalling tactics.
bit like the warehoused tax during covid. only a fraction of that has been paid.
Like taxes in this country, fines are only for “the little” people.
No ESB bills sent to this shower of techbros and girl boss wazztrumpets for their data centres here either I bet. We’re burning the wrong Amazon. The new colonialism.
One rule for us, another for they/them.
Working my best to pay revenue CAT on inheritance, I owe it and will pay it. Home flooded 2 weeks ago due to flooding,
Dear Collector general,
if your reading this
Please let the sheriff know that the contents of my small home are in the skip at the side of the house, I have 2 chairs left. They won’t be worth much at auction.
I pledge to have funds raised to pay your CAT demand by next April/May.
Just give me a chance.
Right now I’m forced to choose in turning left to go for milk or turn right to go to the river myself to end all this suffering and stress.
What you fail to realise is the amount that your owed won’t even construct a bicycle stand in leister house.
Please give those who have less a chance.
Signed,
A working man.
The fundamental premise of fining Big Tech for collecting data is deeply flawed and reflects a misunderstanding of both the nature of the digital economy and the voluntary exchange between users and platforms. Data collection is not some nefarious act, it is the lifeblood of innovation and the fuel for creating tailored, efficient services that consumers actively demand. Users willingly provide data in exchange for access to free tools that enhance their lives, from search engines to social media. To penalise companies for fulfilling their end of this mutual exchange is to criminalise success and efficiency. The notion that data collection inherently violates privacy ignores the extensive safeguards these companies already implement and the clear terms users agree to. This needs to stop.
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