Department urged to withdraw DPC appeal
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has called on the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) to withdraw its appeal against a finding made by the data-protection watchdog.
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) last month reprimanded the Department of Social Protection (DSP) and fined it €550,000 for breaches of the GDPR linked to the use of biometric data.
This followed a DPC inquiry that covered the department’s processing of biometric facial templates as part of the registration process for the Public Services Card.
It emerged earlier this week that the department had decided to appeal the finding
‘Deeply disappointing’
The ICCL has said that it is “deeply concerned” by the decision. It has also urged the DPC to publish its decision in full.
“The DEASP’s decision to appeal is deeply disappointing and triggers a strong sense of déjà vu, given its attempt to challenge the DPC in 2019, only to withdraw that appeal two years later,” said ICCL’s senior policy officer on human rights and surveillance Olga Cronin.
“We’ve waited years for this decision from the DPC on the biometric element of the card. The State should not now start a costly legal battle at taxpayers’ expense to continue its unlawful biometric data processing,” she added.