Johnny Ryan

US Border Patrol admits using Real-Time Bidding (RTB) data to track people's movements.

The failure to enforce against the RTB data breach at the heart of online advertising is very, very dangerous.

Big scoop by @josephcox@infosec.exchange @404mediaco@mastodon.social

https://www.404media.co/cbp-tapped-into-the-online-advertising-ecosystem-to-track-peoples-movements/

Irish Data Protection Commission was asked today in Committee: have you ever taken a GDPR decision on Google?
Answer... No.

Ireland is responsible for supervising Google's data use across the whole EU. It has produced Zero decisions.

Hundreds of "amicable resolutions" but no actual Article 60 final decisions at all.

The European Commission should be examining Ireland not just on tax but on data and child safety online.

My piece in The Guardian this morning: Europe’s path to technological independence from the U.S.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/17/europeans-are-dangerously-reliant-on-us-tech-now-is-a-good-time-to-build-our-own

The latest evidence that broadcasting people’s movements and intimate data in the Real-Time Bidding online advertising system is truly dangerous.

https://www.wired.com/story/ice-asks-companies-about-ad-tech-and-big-data-tools/

People are asking if I was the rejected candidate? No. But I know who it was: an impeccably qualified person.

However, when I did apply previously I also was not shortlisted.

Nor were exceptionally qualified candidates I am aware of from the EDPS, European Commission, data protection experts...

https://www.politico.eu/article/big-tech-lawyer-key-in-picking-irelands-newest-privacy-commissioner/