Ireland's data watchdog 'shouldn’t alone regulate Facebook and other big tech for 500m Europeans'

Europe's top court has backed individual national privacy watchdogs to pursue Facebook and other tech giants, meaning they could face scrutiny and sanctions from other member states

Along with Google, Twitter and Apple, Facebook has its EU headquarters here, putting it under the oversight of the Data Protection Commissioner under the GDPR privacy rules. File picture: PA

Facebook and other Silicon Valley giants could face more scrutiny and potential sanctions in the EU after Europe's top court backed individual national privacy watchdogs to pursue them, even when they are not the lead regulators, as is the case for Ireland's Data Protection Commission.

Consumer lobbying group BEUC welcomed the ruling by the EU Court of Justice (CJEU), which backed the right of national agencies to act, citing enforcement bottlenecks.