Confirming what has been apparent from headlines and tracking, the Irish data protection regulator announced in early March 2023 that it had issued fines totaling more than one billion Euros in 2022. The highest-profile investigations and fines involved global social media giants, unsurprisingly, and focused on downstream use of data, kids' protection online, and adtech.
Why It Matters
Concerns about children and about online advertising are becoming higher and higher profile with regulators in both the EU and the US. We are seeing a strong uptick in disputes relating to adtech and its tracking of users. Companies who employ analytics and advertising firms are strongly advised to be sure they understand how their providers collect and use information from their users. Although most companies will never face a multi-million-dollar fine in the EU, there are plenty of headaches and expense for companies being targeted by consumers who object to ad targeting and online tracking. And the continued evolution of privacy laws and caselaw is likely to make these claims easier to bring.
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