Department 'fully satisfied' with appointment of ex-Meta lobbyist to Data Protection Commission

The appointment of Niamh Sweeney has been deemed controversial given her previous six-year public policy role with Meta, one of the Data Protection Commission's principal litigation adversaries over much of the past 15 years in both the Irish and European courts. File photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The Department of Justice said it is “fully satisfied” with the appointment of a former lobbyist for Facebook parent firm Meta as Ireland’s newest data protection commissioner.

The Department, which oversaw the appointment of Niamh Sweeney via the Public Appointments Service earlier this month, was responding after a complaint to the European Commission alleging that Ireland had failed to ensure “independence and impartiality” in the process of appointing Ms Sweeney.