Paul Murphy questions DPC's closeness to big tech

Yeah, thanks very much. Just to start with the data protection, Commissioner, you refer to how separate kind of interaction of GDPR, European data protection and so on, indicates how separate legal frameworks can coexist effectively and operate well independently. Close cooperation and regular engagement create an effective, cohesive and robust regulatory regime ensuring that entities can be held accountable for potential harms to European citizens. Is that your view? You know, do we actually have a cohesive, robust regulatory regime ensuring that entities can be held accountable for potential harms? Well, I think it is our view, certainly within the European data protection board community, which is the peer data protection across Europe, that we work very, very closely together and increasingly closely together and increasingly now with the new digital regulations coming through, the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, we are cooperating with regulators in those spheres. So there is, there is a lot of, I suppose, as Jeremy has said, there's a lot of consultation, a lot of contact, a lot of tic-tacking between regulators because part of it is we don't want, I suppose, the organizations who we regulate to, you know, to have to go through similar things over and over again if that's not necessary. Now they are different regulatory frameworks, but we, you know, we work to the best of our ability to do it. Now it is for others to judge whether, whether that is, you know, whether it's working. It's, it is noteworthy, Deputy, that the GDPR came in in 2018, but it's actually taken a few years for it to bed down, and still an awful lot of cases going through the Court of Justice in terms of what, clarifying what that is. And I think it's probably fair to say that is going to be the case of the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. These things come in, there are regulatory actions taken from them, they're usually appealed or litigated, and these take a while to work their way through the system. Competition law in 1962, I think it was the seven years before the first case, might have come before, before the, you know, the European Court. So it is, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's something which I understand everybody is very impatient for, to get on to where we want to be, and we as regulators want to get there as well, but it's just some of these things do take a little time to work through the system. So I hope that answers your question. Yeah. How do you respond to criticism from digital rights campaigners that the DPC is effectively too close to big tech? That it's soft on US tech multinationals that are headquartered in Ireland, that it has, quote, an abysmal record taking on big tech companies. And an illustration of this was the appointment of a former meta lobbyist as to one of the three data protection commissioners. Do you, do you think there's anything to any of that criticism? Well, every organisation is free. It's very important civil society organisations express their views. And of course, everything is always taken on board. I do take exception to the last part of your question in terms of the appointment of a commissioner who would have gone through the top level appointments commission, you know, commission process. And I think that's a completely independent process and having been through it myself. I think it's just important to put that on the record. I don't accept those criticisms at all. Otherwise, we wouldn't have anyone applying for, you know, for jobs in this country. I will just caution to be you're aware of the rules around that somebody who isn't here, you know, before the committee concerning their position. So I just to advise you to be careful. Yeah, just ask the question. I didn't name the person. And there's a criticism out there, probably there's written articles about, there's people suggesting that it's problematic for a former lobbyist to have such a role. You know, the former, what's the, I think somebody who's identified, you're aware of the rules deputy, so I'll ask you just to move on with questions. Yeah, thank you. I have answered that part of the question, which I don't, I don't, you don't agree or accept. But in terms of, sorry, Debbie, just to repeat the first part of your question. That you're too close to big tech and that you have an abysmal record of pursuing the big US tech companies, which are based here. Well, I think we've over 4 billion levied in fines at the moment. We have, we are not, I can certainly say that my predecessor and the current commissioners were very, very focused on regulating everyone we regulate, be it public or private sector. There's no fear or favour, I can guarantee you that. And we will, we apply the law as we apply the law. We work very closely with our peer regulators. We listen to their views. We listen to civil society organisations and we get complaints from increasing numbers of individuals. Thanks very much. I just want to ask one yes or no question to Commissioner to Man if I can, because I'm out of time, is you reference collaborating closely with other relevant bodies, including Ancorda, Garda, Siakana. Do you know whether or not the Garda are looking to prosecute individuals from X or X as a whole? Yeah, I think you'd like to ask that question to the government. Yeah, I've been, I've been asking this question to everyone I can and I haven't, but yeah, you don't know either. Thanks a lot.