Team size: 19

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The legal team continues to provide key assistance to government departments in significant transpositions of EU law in the digital sectors. This entails significant new areas for ComReg. Firstly, the Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2) and the Critical Entities Resilience Directive (CER), providing a new legal framework for the regulation and supervision of cybersecurity and resilience. Secondly, the EU Data Act, which will address the challenges and unleash the opportunities presented by data in the EU, emphasising fair access and user rights, while ensuring the protection of personal data. The new framework will provide harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data, is a key pillar of the European data strategy and is intended to make a significant contribution to the Digital Decade’s objective of advancing digital transformation.

ComReg’s legal team continue to contribute to the defence of legal challenges that arise from key regulatory decisions, primarily in the areas of wholesale access and enforcing Consumer Rights and Industry obligations in a range of court actions against electronic communications service providers, particularly in respect of billing and switching.

The team led the defence of five High Court Appeals and one plenary action, and successfully supported the use of new powers in respect of a bulk data seizure from a regulated entity. The team also supported the enforcement of five District Court prosecutions, four high court enforcement actions and six alternative dispute resolution cases.

As a general counsel, how do you anticipate and prepare for potential legal and regulatory challenges that may arise, particularly in light of emerging technologies and evolving business landscapes?

The use of AI has broadened and accelerated rapidly in recent years, which has created a range of new, potentially beneficial, opportunities for organisations to leverage. ComReg’s AI policy seeks to provide a framework for the approval of AI tools for specific use cases while proactively identifying and mitigating the associated risks. This policy also functions as a reference point for ComReg staff to ensure that they are aware of the process for AI approvals as well as best practices for their use.

We would like to avail of the relevant opportunities arising from evolving AI tools, but with the appropriate governance to ensure there is a process to identify any risks arising from the proposed use of a new AI tool; consider our ability to mitigate those risks; and if any risk remains, to decide if the benefits outweigh the risks. This is subject to our legal obligations including confidentiality, data protection, and IP rights.

ComReg has established an AI Governance Committee to review opportunities to leverage AI, while balancing against increased risks. Regular review of the AI policy and identification of the use of AI in new areas and technologies is required. The governance committee is made up of a variety of relevant stakeholders, with a multi-disciplinary team including, but not limited to, legal and IT. The role of the AI governance committee will be to review and approve AI use cases.

In your role, how do you balance the need to protect the organisation’s interests today while also considering legal implications and opportunities that may arise in the future?

In light of new EU Digital legislation navigating the trends and challenges in the digital infrastructure sector, ComReg’s legal team continues to contribute to the advocacy debate, considering Europe’s and particularly Ireland’s connectivity infrastructure challenges, technological challenges, investment needs, and sustainability challenges.

Thanks to a combination of state intervention and commercial investment, Ireland is well-placed to achieve Europe’s Digital Decade very high-capacity network (VHCN) connectivity targets by 2030. We are cognisant of the need to set the correct incentives for this to happen, including, crucially, encouraging sufficient competitive tension which, in Ireland, has been an important driver of investment.

ComReg continues to advocate for careful attention to ensure that any policy measures vindicate consumer and end user rights. As high-speed broadband availability increases over time, issues of affordability and social participation and inclusion will likely come to the forefront. Accordingly, we welcome clarification on the issue of connectivity vouchers – which may be used to tackle any divide in access to VHCNs – in the latest Broadband State Aid Guidelines.