Crucial case for privacy and data

The Irish High Court has gone to Europe over a privacy law ruling that could have major repercussions, writes Maria Helen Murphy

THE High Court has asked a European court to rule on a landmark case which looks to force watchdogs to audit personal data allegedly released to US spy bosses by Facebook.

Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems took to the Irish courts to try to have the social media giant audited because he says its Irish arm passes data on to the US National Security Agency. Schrems took the case on the back of the Prism surveillance operation exposed by Edward Snowden — originally he tried to have this done through the Irish Data Protection Commissioner but this was dismissed.