Over €2 million in legal fees spent on Schrems/Facebook case

Over €2 million has been spent on legal fees for the Data Protection Commissioner in the ongoing Schrems/Facebook data protection case.

Figures released under a Freedom of Information request show that €1.928 million has been paid out to Philip Lee Solicitors for legal and related expert fees over the course of 2016 and 2017.

Barristers Michael Collins and Brian Murray, who led the State legal team in the case, were paid €207,962 and €253,774 respectively over the same period, while Catherine Donnelly BL received €179,303.

Commissioner Helen Dixon initiated the landmark case in May 2016 following a complaint by Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems about Facebook’s use of so-called standard contractual clauses (SCCs) to transfer personal data from Europe to the US.

The case has been referred by the High Court to the European Court of Justice, where it is still under consideration.

The Data Protection Commissioner’s budget has been increased to €11.7 million this year, up from €7.5m in 2017 and €4.7m in 2016.