PSC fall-out: Department of Social Protection accused of ‘mass surveillance’

A complaint has been made to the Data Protection Commissioner accusing the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection of engaging in “mass surveillance” with regard to the collation of data from the free travel pass variant of the Public Services Card.

The complainant, Martin McMahon, from Dublin, noted when travelling with his own travel pass that his rights were being breached under the General Data Protection Regulation as his movements were being ‘recorded’ each time he scanned the pass when boarding public transport.