Helen Dixon to step down as Irish Data Protection Commissioner
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Ms Dixon has been Europe’s most powerful data privacy regulator for the last decade
Irish Data Protection Commissioner, Helen Dixon. Photo0: Adrian Weckler
Helen Dixon, the Irish Data Protection Commissioner, has announced that she will step down in February 2024 after 10 years in the job.
The world’s most powerful tech privacy regulator, whose office has imposed billions in fines on Big Tech firms over the last two years, confirmed the news today.
“My final term at the DPC is due to end in 2024,” she said. “I will depart the DPC on 19 February. It has been a privilege and an honour to have served in the role of Commissioner. I look back with great satisfaction at what the Data Protection Commission has achieved over the last 9 and a half years. I have had the opportunity to transform the DPC from a small regionally-based office of 27 staff into an independent regulatory body today with over 215 committed experts, headquartered in Dublin, and internationally recognised for the quality of its staff and work.”
Ms Dixon has been a target for some European privacy campaigners who believe that Ireland has taken too long to enforce GDPR privacy rules on the biggest tech firms, such as Meta and Google. However, in the last two years, her office has imposed fines of almost €3bn on Big Tech companies, including Meta, Google and TikTok.
Ms Dixon, who is in her forties, declined to say what she might consider next.
“New pastures await me in 2024,” she said. “I look forward to being in touch. In the meantime. It has been a privilege.”