Kate McDonald reports:
Data showing the specific movement of tens of thousands of smartphones in Ireland is available to purchase from companies working in the digital marketing and advertising industries, an undercover Prime Time investigation has found.
The availability of the data from brokers has raised major worries about personal privacy, but also national and domestic security, including at the highest levels of the Department of Justice.
Phones in the data could be tracked back to specific residential addresses after entering high-security prisons, military bases, and Leinster House, as well as sensitive locations like health clinics and mental health facilities.
Having been made aware of the availability of the data by Prime Time, the Data Protection Commission said in a statement it is “extremely concerned.”
Read more at RTÉ.
Related: Statement from the DPC regarding RTÉ’s Prime Time Investigation
18th September 2025
The DPC first became aware of this matter when contacted by Prime Time and we are extremely concerned by it. Location data can reveal a significant amount of information about individuals, including information about an individual’s habits and personality, and information that is inherently sensitive. Information about an individual’s location can also pose a serious risk to their security and wellbeing.
We are currently working to identify the data broker in question and if they are headquartered in Ireland, we will take action ourselves. However, if they are headquartered in another EU country, we will engage with the relevant Data Protection authority to deal with the matter.