Irish DPC "handles" 99,93% of GDPR complaints, without decision?

In a rather astonishing hearing before the Joint Committee on Justice of the Irish Parliament, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), Helen Dixon, acknowledged for the first time publicly what many suspected: The Irish Regulator does not decide on citizens' complaints - in violation of EU law. In addition, the DPC accused critics of "complete inaccuracies", largely without specifying the inaccuracies. She also accused other Data Protection Authorities of political reasons to criticize her office.

The two hour hearing (full video 1, video 2 and video 3) before the Joint Committee on Justice was split into two sessions, with Max Schrems (noyb) and Fred Logue (FP Logue Solicitors) in the first session, and Helen Dixon (DPC) and Johnny Ryan (ICCL) in the second session. Witnesses in the first session largely agreed on countless issues with the DPC and highlighted that most complaints before the DPC hardly see any decisions - often for years. Despite reporting more than 10,000 complaints in 2020, the DPC only plans six to seven formal decisions in 2021, meaning that only 0.07% of all GDPR complaints might possibly see a formal decision. This "disappearance" of complaints led Mr Schrems to speculate about a "Bermuda triangle" at the DPC.

DPC: "Handle" does not mean "decide". The long-standing miracle of "self-resolving" GDPR complaints was then lifted by Helen Dixon: The DPC simply interprets the word "handle" to mean that the DPC can also simply dispose of complaints on the fundamental right to privacy. She openly argued “In fact, there is no obligation on the DPC under the 2018 Act to produce a decision in the case of any complaint.”

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