The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has formally complained to the European Commission over the appointment of the country’s third data protection commissioner.
The complaint focuses on the process under which former Facebook and WhatsApp public policy head Niamh Sweeney was appointed to the Data Protection Commission (DPC).
The role was filled following a competition run by the Public Appointments Service.
However, the ICCL said Ireland had failed to provide adequate safeguards for independence and impartiality in its process. It also claimed a lack of safeguards against conflict of interest and political interference would be interpreted by the tech industry as a “signal of impunity”.
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“EU Law requires that independent supervisory authorities must not only be impartial and independent but must also be above any suspicion of partiality,” the organisation said. “The only member who could claim data protection expertise is a ‘big tech lawyer’ according to Politico, who may be conflicted by close association with tech sector clients. The panel had no technical experts whatsoever.”
[ Privacy groups assail appointment of ex-tech lobbyist to Irish tech regulatorOpens in new window ]
The ICCL was one of a number of European digital rights campaigners who last month criticised Ms Sweeney’s appointment, arguing that it undermines trust in the data watchdog.
A former journalist and ministerial adviser, Ms Sweeney spent six years at Meta, where she was head of public policy in Ireland for Facebook before becoming WhatsApp’s director of public policy for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
She then joined Stripe as head of communications in Ireland and most recently was a director at London-headquartered communications firm Milltown Partners.
The ICCL pointed to Ms Sweeney’s former tech roles, noting she led Facebook lobbying activities in its European headquarters in a period where it claimed Meta had “an exceptionally poor culture” of data stewardship.
“Ireland’s actions not only invite further reasonable doubts but may also be interpreted by the tech industry as a signal of impunity from the Irish Government,” the ICCL said. “The European Commission must intervene.”
However, sources inside the DPC are believed to regard Ms Sweeney’s past experience as valuable in helping the regulator understand how the big social media and tech firms think and operate.
