Dysfunctional Data Protection Commissioner?

csirl

Opening this thread to see if there are others out there experiencing severe delays and poor service from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. It seems like they are very quick to go after mulrinationals, but extremely poor when handling routine requests from the public.

This is about their timelines and customer service, not any individual case.

Ive a family member who made a complaint to the ODPC in 2019. Seemed like a routine enough case - an organisation family member was dealing with had given incorrect information to a third party organisation. Person found out via the third party. Person made a GDPR request to the organisation and sought correction of the information. Volume of information on file would be small, that the information is incorrect is not in doubt. Organisation was non responsive, so referred to ODPC.

5 years later it is still not concluded. Organisation is being a mixture of unresponsive on occasions and on other occasions giving the ODPC the runaround.

Family members experience of dealing with the ODPC is like dealing with one of those AI bots you get on some customer service sites. A mixture of short fotmulaic responses about working on the complaint and being asked the same questions repeatedly. Always signed by a different staff member. Requests have been made for a meeting or phonecall with a real person, but still only bot style responses. A customer complaint was made and the response was they'll do better, speed up etc, but things continue as before.

At the core of all this is the non cooperation of the organisation. Family member has raised the issue of why no enforcement, but still getting bot style responses.

5 years on, no progtess. Gives the impression that GDPR does not exist in Ireland. If an organisation decides not to cooperate, nothing will happen and the complaint will be left in limbo forever.

aidanodr

Sort of related

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0229/1435123-ireland-fine/

angel eyes 2012

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058338399/dysfunctional-data-protection-commissioner

Did you escalate the customer complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman?

skimpydoo

The reason why the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner is quick to go after multinationals is because of the EU. Most of the worlds top companies have their EMEA HQ's in Ireland which makes Ireland the data police of Europe so we have to make sure they comply with GDPR regulations.

I do agree that every company large or small should be dealt with in the same way when it comes to GDPR and I hope the person that comes in later this year to replace Helen Dixon makes sure this is done.

csirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121833087#Comment_121833087

Family member contacted the Ombudsman recently and was told the ODPC is an exempt organisatiion, so cant be complained about.

angel eyes 2012

Apologies OP, I had to edit my response, I was suggesting that your family member submit an FOI request on the matter but it seems the DPC have partial exemptions under the FOI Act also, in that the Act does not apply to their complaints handling function.

https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/who-we-are/corporate-governance/freedom-information

So your family member would be essentially wasting their time.

It seems they aren't really accountable to anyone, unless I'm mistaken. But I'm starting to realise how they have gotten away with such poor service in relation to your family member and others.

Mrs OBumble

Should the guards treat complaints about a small time local drug dealer the same way as complaints about large multi-national drug smugglers?

Or should they focus resources where they are likely to have biggest impact?