Data cops in charge of Facebook, LinkedIn, Google get a new office

Ireland’s data chief will get a new place of work more in keeping with her status, as privacy battles with global tech giants loom large.

Headquarters of the mighty Irish data cops, in charge of regulating some of the biggest names in the tech industry

Currently, the Data Protection Commissioner of Ireland is housed in a tiny office next to a convenience store in the middle of nowhere (aka Portarlington, County Laois). The office spends around €1.7m a year, but obviously not on the premises itself.

The new DPC Helen Dixon is responsible for ensuring global tech giants, including Facebook, Google, Apple, Twitter, Paypal, Microsoft and LinkedIn, all headquartered in Ireland, respect the EU’s privacy laws.

If the draft Data Protection Regulation is passed in its current form, a so-called “one stop shop” principle would mean that she is responsible for defending the data protection rights of 500 million people.

So it's timely that this week the Irish government decided to increase the DPC’s budget by about two-thirds and to open a second office in Dublin.

However, the main headquarters will still remain next door to the corner shop, an hour’s train ride from the Irish capital.

The status of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner will also be significantly upgraded, to the status of a separate Office of State. ®