These days, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) is often in the headlines. But there is more to the office’s work than fighting cases against Big Tech companies, defending its relations with the rest of the European Data Protection Board, or explaining the procedural rules and time-lags with the One-Stop-Shop.

One of the office’s five strategic goals expressed in its Regulatory Strategy Consultation (for which submissions are invited by 30 June) is to prioritise the protection of children and other vulnerable groups. This theme was picked up already in 2019 with the office’s original consultation into children’s privacy. At the time, the DPC said that there is a misconception that children did not have the same data protection rights as adults. The 2019 consultation reached out to schools among other stakeholders, and was keen to gather children’s views. The office also delivered a lesson plan on data protection rights to all schools.