Tag: Data Protection (Page 1 of 2)

Data Protection and GDPR for Small Businesses

June 9, 2025 / Lisa Quinn O'Flaherty

A small business’s data collection and processing practices are held accountable by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR came into effect on the 25th of May 2018 as a universal framework for data protection law for the European Union. It represents the harmonisation of data protection requirements across the EU. In the digital age of data protection, the GDPR is an important framework for understanding data protection for all organisations, and the rules are the same for both large and small businesses. The GDPR framework establishes the protection of personal data, builds customer trust, and enhances business operations. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations alike must be in compliance with the GDPR to safeguard their reputation and build trust with their customers.

Being Accountable and the Transparency Policy

February 5, 2025 / Lisa Quinn O'Flaherty

A business can implement a transparency policy to show its commitment to accountability and openness in is work. The policy will show the practices and procedures embraced by the business. It articulates the core values of the business in relation to communication with stakeholders. Honesty, integrity and accountability will be key values. The policy will detail the specific information that will be disclosed. This might include business practices, governance structures, financial performance, and gender pay gap information. It will describe when and how the information is shared, whether publicly by website or report or internally to employees or to certain stakeholders such as investors.

GDPR Considerations When Using Artificial Intelligence

October 1, 2024 / Lisa Quinn O'Flaherty

Many businesses are using artificial intelligence (AI) in some form in order to create business efficiencies. Some businesses use generative AI for copywriting, software writing, or employ Chatbots. These programmes work by being ‘trained’ by the inputting of large amounts of data. Other AI in use includes tools to summarise data or to perform analysis. Some businesses use off-the shelf AI tools and others augment the tools with their own specific datasets.

The Right to Request Remote Work: A Balancing Act for Irish Employers and Employees

September 23, 2024 / Lisa Quinn O'Flaherty

In February 2020, COVID-19 arrived in Ireland, quickly leading to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused one of the longest lockdowns experienced in Europe. The lockdown led to most of Ireland’s workforce not being able to work in their buildings or offices, causing a majority of them to work from home. Before 2020, remote work was once seen as a luxury or a niche option but is now the norm, and the demand for remote work has been increasing since then, with most businesses now offering remote work as a way to cut down on extra costs. Remote work saw a large impact on the legal sector, with most firms still recovering to pre-pandemic operations. In response to remote work becoming more popular within Ireland, the Irish government aimed to establish a legal framework to govern remote work practices.

GDPR: When Does a Business Need a Data Transfer Agreement?

September 12, 2024 / Lisa Quinn O'Flaherty

GDPR puts a variety of obligations on businesses. Due to the far-reaching penalties arising under data protection law, it is important for business-owners to recognise where a need for action is triggered. One area that causes confusion or may be overlooked is the requirement for a data transfer agreement (DTA). A business may need a DTA in the following situations:

The EU Artificial Intelligence Act

August 4, 2024 / Lisa Quinn O'Flaherty

The EU Artificial Intelligence Act came into force this week without much fuss. It creates obligations on all organisations that use or create artificial intelligence such as predictive analytics, virtual assistants, chatbots, HR tools, fraud detection tools, medical diagnostic tools, financial credit scoring, online retail recommendation engines, and targeted advertising.

Data Protection Guide: Notification of Data Breaches to the DPC

December 23, 2020 / Lisa Quinn O'Flaherty

Ordinarily at this time of year, I advocate a total switch off from all things work. However, the one thing that does not take a break over the Christmas period is the obligation to report a data breach to the Data Protection Commissioner. All data breaches must be notified within 72 hours.

Tag: Data Protection (Page 1 of 2)

The Right to Request Remote Work: A Balancing Act for Irish Employers and Employees

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