Fianna Fáil Senator Malcolm Byrne has called for a review of the level and expertise and of staffing at the Data Protection Commission (DPC) to ensure that it is adequately resourced to oversee the operations of tech giants based here.
He has expressed particular concern that as Tiktok has now moved its data protection function to Ireland that we are responsible for regulation over the social media giant.
Malcolm pointed out, “Tiktok is an innovative app that uses artificial intelligence and facial recognition. These are fascinating technologies but it is unclear as to what is happening with the data being gathered by the app owned by this Chinese company.
“I believe that while big data that can be used positively, as we have seen with the Covid tracing app, we are not sufficiently on top of what is needed both with regard to the digital literacy of our citizens – that we know what happens to our data when we log on to social media – and when it comes to ensuring that it is used appropriately.
“While the DPC has seen its staff numbers increase in recent years, they are still wholly inadequate with regard to the work that needs to be done,” Malcolm concluded.
