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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 9h

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee announces award goes to Venezuelan opposition leader for opposing authoritarianism
www.nobelpeaceprize.org/articles/nob...

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 1d

Significant

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 1d

CNN: We have just learned that Letitia James has just been indicted by the DOJ

Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 1d

DG Comp, ladies & gentlemen.

The Register @theregister.com · 1d

Nextcloud withdraws European Commission OneDrive bundling complaint

Lack of interest from the EU policy enforcer blamed for towel throwing Nextcloud has withdrawn a complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission over OneDrive bundling, citing a lack of progress with the governing body.…

dlvr.it

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 1d

People are asking if I was the rejected candidate?
No. But I know who it was: an impeccably qualified person.

However, when I did apply previously I also was not shortlisted.

Nor were exceptionally qualified candidates I am aware of from the EDPS, European Commission, data protection experts...

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 1d

By failing to stand up on digital Europe has invited further encroachments. Now Trump is demanding that US firms be exempt from environmental rules in Europe

www.ft.com/content/678f...

US demands EU dismantle green regulations in threat to trade deal

Washington wants American companies to be exempted from rules such as having to draw up climate transition plans

www.ft.com

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 1d

Big piece in POLITICO asking about the independence of Ireland's process of appointing people to its Data Protection Commission. There is deep unease in Brussels about Ireland appointing a former Meta lobbyist as Meta's watchdog. Now questions about who was involved.

www.politico.eu/article/big-...

Big Tech lawyer played key role in picking Ireland’s new privacy regulator

Former Meta lobbyist Niamh Sweeney will co-lead the Irish Data Protection Commission from mid-October.

www.politico.eu

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 2d

Trump puts EU under pressure on digital issue

EU must

1. hold large US tech accountable for market rigging, snooping, and preying on our children

2. replace all non-EU big tech platforms & cloud over the next decade

And…

Brussels really must hit Ireland for not enforcing EU rules on US firms

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 2d

I only just posted it. Eagle eye!

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 2d

As I write in The Guardian this morning, the danger of this moment is that if Europe does not act against Trump now, it will never act again.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The EU has a secret weapon to counter Trump’s economic bullying. It’s time to use it | Johnny Ryan

The anti-coercion instrument, or ‘trade bazooka’, is designed to shield against foreign pressure, says civil liberties campaigner Johnny Ryan

www.theguardian.com

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 3d

The U.S. FTC chair said that ICCL's report on the national security threat of RTB data was the impetus for the FTC's investigation and enforcement against the data broker Mobilewalla collecting RTB location data www.iccl.ie/digital-data...

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 3d

The DPC is even contradicted by RTB's own technical specification.
Note latitude, longitude, GPS data, IP address, etc...
github.com/InteractiveA...

github.com

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 3d

The DPC is also contradicted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
The recent FTC decision on notorious data broker "Mobilewalla" states plainly that data brokers collect location data from RTB.
www.ftc.gov/policy/advoc...

Unpacking Real Time Bidding through FTC’s case on Mobilewalla

The FTC recently

www.ftc.gov

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 3d

In fact European authorities - including the DPC - have confirmed that RTB does indeed expose people’s location data and movements to data brokers in a binding Article 60 Decision.

See Art 60 Decision of 2/2/2022, EDPB, para 515 www.edpb.europa.eu/system/files...

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 3d

We told the DPC about this. It has known for years.
But yesterday it released this in a statement - perhaps in an attempt to absolve itself from the location scandal shown on national TV recently.
The statement is incorrect.

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 3d

Screenshot from their website shows where a person is, and where they were on what previous days.
Google and other major RTB players are shown as sources for their worldwide data.
www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 4d

After 8 years of inaction, the DPC now claims that RTB adtech does not provide location data to dodgy firms.
Wrong.
Meet "Patternz" for example:
An Israeli surveillance tool built on RTB data that provides a targeted individual's coordinates and "driving path" www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 6d

So many examples of these data being dangerous

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 6d

resources are not necessarily the problem bsky.app/profile/john...

Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 22d

The Data Protection Commission has cost the Irish taxpayer €162.3 million since it was first informed of the RTB data breach in 2017.

See table --> www.iccl.ie/wp-content/u...

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 7d

This is madness. Our data are being broadcast at enormous scale, to countless parties, without any security. It is time to enforce against the central RTB players.

Read our report on why this is a national security crisis --> www.iccl.ie/digital-data...

Europe's hidden security crisis

How data about European defence personnel and political leaders flows to foreign states and non-state actors

www.iccl.ie

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 7d

And he says the DPC says it has started to investigate a single data broker concerned, and contacted another authority too.

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 7d

And he says people should stop clicking consent spam popups - despite the fact that one can not lawfully obtain consent to a data free-for-all.

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 7d

But his answer is not to rebuke the DPC's refusal to act on RTB since 2017. Instead he says people should switch off location on their phones (immaterial if IP address is used for location);

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 7d

This peculiar and alarming.

Labour leader @ivanabacik.bsky.social Ivana Bacik asks Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan what he has done to ensure the DPC finally acts against the data free-for-all that sends people's movements to countless data brokers.

vimeo.com/1124123069?f...

Irish Minister for Justice asked about RTB data by Labour Leader in Parliament

1 October 2025 source https://video.oireachtas.ie/hourly/dail/dail_20251001T1200.mp4

vimeo.com

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 8d

My speech at the European Parliament: rather than undermine the GDPR in its proposed "Omnibus", the European Commission should intelligently apply the GDPR as a tool for European competitiveness, national security, and protecting children online.

www.iccl.ie/digital-data...

Use data law to protect children, national security, and competitiveness, Johnny Ryan tells European Parliament

Dr Johnny Ryan's speech at European Parliament on deregulation: Rather than undermine the GDPR in its proposed "Omnibus", the European Commission should intelligently apply the GDPR as a tool for Euro...

www.iccl.ie

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Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 14d

Arthur Schlesinger Jr. in 1948

"The only hope lay in the revival of democracy as a fighting faith"

archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes....

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