Data and Digital Leadership Forum – Data Protection

Dale Sunderland

My name is Dale Sunderland, and I’m one of the two commissioners for data protection. I was really delighted to be invited by Arthur Cox to attend today’s conference and to give the keynote address. Events like this are really important for the Data Protection Commission to get out and engage with stakeholders, with practitioners, and to give an update on how things are going for the DPC, in respect of which there’s huge interest from practitioners that we can give an overview of the key things that are happening in the world of data protection and an opportunity to send some key messages to stakeholders on issues that we really think they should focus on.

Colin Rooney

My name is Colin Rooney. I’m the head of the Technology and Innovation Group in Arthur Cox. The key takeaways from my interview with Commissioner Sunderland today concerned managing the regulatory burden. In particular, Commissioner Sunderland spoke about the the importance of having documentation such as LIAs or indeed, ROPAs to demonstrate that the accountability principle in the GDPR was being fully discharged. He also spoke at length about the importance of considering the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union, as well as the papers of the European Data Protection Board, and that this is a fast moving space where there is a constant change in relation to the nature of the law that is applicable. For more information, please visit https://www.arthurcox.com/dataanddigitalleadership

Data and Digital Leadership Forum Digital

Olivia Mullooly

My name is Olivia Mullooly. I’m a partner in the Technology and Innovation Group in Arthur Cox. Events like our data digital leadership forum are designed to bring together a range of stakeholders, not just ourselves in the technology and innovation group, but also the key regulators in this area, and also industry representatives and stakeholders who can bring together the practical perspectives of having to implement and navigate all of these challenges and do them in a way that is commercially reasonable and that they can leverage their own existing processes and procedures to find ways that will work for each company based on their own risk profile and also their general internal governance reporting structures.

Colin Rooney

My name is Colin Rooney. I am the head of the Technology and Innovation Group in Arthur Cox. Today, I had a discussion with my colleague, Ciara Anderson, in relation to the DATA Act. We discussed this new piece of legislation which effectively establishes a data marketplace within the EU and provides for certain rules and obligations on organisations in relation to the sharing of data, both with their users and with other third parties.

Grace Ann Meghan

My name is Grace Anne Meghan, and I’m a Senior Associate in the Employment Group. And today I’m speaking on protected disclosures. The protected Disclosures Amendment Act 2022 commenced on the first of January 2023, and it broadened the scope of the protected disclosures regime in Ireland. So, some of the key points that I’m touching on today include recognising what is and what is not a protected disclosure. I think, particularly for myself, being a member of the Employment Group, it’s a great opportunity to meet and speak with clients from the Technology and Innovation Group and show how much our two areas cross over. So often the Employment Group and the Technology and Innovation Group would work together, particularly on something like a protected disclosure. There’s often an overlap between protected disclosures and DSARs. And with the confidentiality obligations that apply under the act, we’d often need to work together in advising clients on how to deal with those types of complaints and disclosures.

Olivia Mullooly

So, for more information, you can visit arthurcox. com/data-and-digital-leadership.