Is This Really Possible: Former Meta lobbyist named DPC Commissioner
According to some reports Niamh Sweeney, a former senior Meta lobbyist, is set to join the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) as a commissioner in October. Now this might sound like a small role just for Ireland, but Ireland is responsible for regulating all businesses located in Ireland. That includes most of the Big Tech companies operating in European Union from Ireland.
My initial thought was that this is good news. Who would know Meta's policies better than a former Meta employee, right? That's probably true, but the more I thought about this the more I started worrying that maybe all is not well. Maybe it really is a case where "US Big Tech now officially policing itself".