IrelandIrish ePrivacy Regulations
Officially S.I. No. 336 of 2011, Storage of and Access to Information on Terminal Equipment
Also known as Irish Cookie Regulations.
S.I. No. 336 of 2011, reg. 5(3)-(5)
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What follows is LexLint's own research summary of this law, not legal advice.
In force since .
A device storage and tracking consent rule binding public and private bodies.
As of .
What it requires
- Obtain the user's or subscriber's consent, after giving them clear and comprehensive information, prominently displayed and easily accessible, about the purposes of the processing, before storing information on their device or accessing information already stored there (cookies, local storage, or a comparable technique).
- You may obtain that consent through browser settings or another technological application, where doing so is technically possible and effective.
- You do not need consent for storage or access that is strictly technical to carry out the transmission of a communication, or strictly necessary for an information society service the user explicitly requested.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
Regulation 5 is not itself an offence provision. The Data Protection Commission may investigate a suspected contravention and, where it forms that opinion, serve an enforcement notice requiring specified steps; only a failure to comply with that notice, without reasonable excuse, is an offence, carrying on summary conviction a class A fine (currently a fine not exceeding 5,000 euro under the Fines Act 2010) and no indictable tier or term of imprisonment.
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Data Protection Commission, which may investigate a complaint or act on its own initiative and serve an enforcement notice; regulation 5 is not among the regulations the Commission for Communications Regulation monitors under regulation 30.
What it reaches
Obligation class
Consent, Disclosure
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Regulation 5(3) bars using an electronic communications network to store information, or gain access to information already stored, in a subscriber's or user's terminal equipment, unless the subscriber or user has consented and has first been given clear and comprehensive information, prominently displayed and easily accessible, about the purposes of the processing, in accordance with the Data Protection Acts.
Regulation 5(4) lets that consent be given, where technically possible and effective, through browser settings or another technological application. Regulation 5(5) exempts storage or access that is strictly technical to carry a communication, or strictly necessary to provide an information society service the subscriber or user explicitly requested.
A breach of regulation 5 is not itself an offence: the Data Protection Commission instead investigates and may serve an enforcement notice, and only a failure to comply with that notice is an offence.
When LexLint raises it
tracks_devices
Read the law
Irish Statute Book, official text of S.I. No. 336 of 2011
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.