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Ireland remains Europe's top data enforcer with €4bn total fines issued since 2018
RTÉ News ^ | Wednesday, 21 Jan 2026 00:01 | Brian O’Donovan, Work & Technology Correspondent

Posted on 01/20/2026 8:09:10 PM PST by Olog-hai

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) remains Europe’s largest data enforcer by a wide margin, having issued €4.04 billion in fines since May 2018.

The annual Data Breach Survey from law firm DLA Piper found that Ireland’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) fine total is almost four times more than second-placed France.

The DPC issued the largest fine of 2025, a €530 million penalty against TikTok over the transfer of the personal data of European users to China. TikTok is currently appealing the ruling.

The Data Breach Survey shows that European GDPR fines totaled approximately €1.2 billion in 2025, consistent with 2024 levels, with Ireland and France accounting for more than €1 billion of the total.

Cumulative GDPR fines across Europe now stand at €7.1 billion since 2018.

The €1.2 billion fine issued against Meta by the DPC in 2023 remains the largest GDPR fine ever imposed. …

(Excerpt) Read more at rte.ie ...


TOPICS: Computers/Internet; Local News; Society
KEYWORDS: eussr; fartyshadesofgreen; fourthreich; gdpr; ireland; meta; tiktok; x
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1 posted on 01/20/2026 8:09:10 PM PST by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai
“having issued €4.04 billion in fines since May 2018.

Easy way for a tiny country to make free money off the hard work of big tech companies.
Europe does not have even one tech company worth over $1 Trillion dollars. so they content themselves with stealing the money of mostly big US tech companies with garbage fines based on greedy money grubbing laws.
Is it even worth being in Ireland at all?

2 posted on 01/20/2026 8:15:24 PM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: SmokingJoe

Not with their current anti-American leadership, who is actually considering removing the low corporate tax incentive so that they can “harmonize” with the higher tax rates of the bigger countries that rule over them.


3 posted on 01/20/2026 8:16:48 PM PST by Olog-hai ("No Republican, no matter how liberal, is goings to woo a Democratic vote." -- Ronald Reagan, 1960)
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To: SmokingJoe

Nope, I’d cut them off and quickly.


4 posted on 01/20/2026 8:25:09 PM PST by BipolarBob (These violent delights have violent ends.)
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To: Olog-hai
Well population is just over 5 million and Musk has more money their entire GDP.
Not sure it's worth the trouble.

Grok:

Population: Approximately 5.35 to 5.4 million people as of early 2026. Recent estimates include around 5.336 million (Worldometer/UN-based projection for mid-2025 to early 2026), 5.357 million (PopulationPyramid.net for 2026), and about 5.46 million (some 2025 estimates with ongoing growth). The population has been growing steadily due to immigration and natural increase.

GDP (nominal, in current US dollars): Latest full-year figures show around $609 billion for 2024 (World Bank and other sources). Projections and estimates for 2025 range from about $587–709 billion (varying by source like IMF, Wikipedia compilations, and economic forecasts), with some forecasts indicating strong growth in 2025 (up to 10%+ due to exports and multinationals) before moderating in 2026.

5 posted on 01/20/2026 8:38:04 PM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: Olog-hai

Top shakedown artist.


6 posted on 01/20/2026 8:39:36 PM PST by PTBAA
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To: BipolarBob

Yup.
Screw ‘em!


7 posted on 01/20/2026 8:39:55 PM PST by SmokingJoe
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To: All

OOOH, I’m impressed!

They have actually collected one half of one percent of the fines they have imposed.

I wouldn’t pay them a cent either.


8 posted on 01/20/2026 8:47:03 PM PST by LegendHasIt
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To: Olog-hai

There is a town down the road from me with a population of 88 and 3 full time traffic cops. It occurs to me that Ireland is becoming a nation run on the same corrupt model as that town. Namely, using fines and highly questionable/selective enforcement to finance itself.


9 posted on 01/20/2026 9:27:32 PM PST by EnderWiggin1970
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To: EnderWiggin1970

Great analogy.


10 posted on 01/21/2026 2:42:25 AM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: dfwgator

(Is it even worth being in Ireland at all?)

I had a few ancestors who weren’t welcome at Rock Ridge!

along the Mojave-Tropico Road in Rosamond,
approximately one-quarter mile north Of Dawn Road.

Oh, and on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.


11 posted on 01/21/2026 3:05:30 AM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: Olog-hai

Says the country who hasn’t invented anything since the potato.


12 posted on 01/21/2026 4:36:57 AM PST by Zathras
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To: Olog-hai
Having watched the last episode of Landman where Tommy outlines all the obstacles of trying to get LNG to market, I can only imagine just how difficult it is to actually run a large company that has international reach. The amount of laws, regulations, payoffs both public and private, the fines, the brigades of lawyers all sucking down thousands per hour, it just boggles my mind how anything of any value gets done in this world.

Then when you actually have run that gauntlet and brought a product to market people bitch because the price is pretty high and gripe that there shouldn't be millionaires and billionaires in the world.
13 posted on 01/21/2026 5:58:37 AM PST by The Louiswu (USA FIRST...USA FOREVER)
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