All bark no byte? Unease over Irish performance as EU’s lead data watchdog

DUBLIN – Two years after the EU launched its landmark GDPR data rights charter, there are signs Ireland is faltering in its outsized role as regulator of many of the most powerful digital giants.

Hailed as a potent weapon to bring tech titans to heel, the General Data Protection Regulation endowed national watchdogs with cross-border powers and the possibility to impose sizeable fines for data misuse.

Ireland hosts the regional headquarters of Facebook, Apple, Google and Twitter, and is therefore largely responsible for policing their European activities.

But its Data Protection Commission has yet to issue a major decision against any of the giants in Dublin’s glimmering “Silicon…