European data protection authorities (DPAs) need to speed up their investigative and decision-making processes—especially with regard to cross-border complaints—before regulators lose patience and find legal means to mete out penalties under national laws instead of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Neil Hodge is a freelance business journalist and photographer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom. He writes on insurance and risk management, corporate governance, internal audit, compliance, and legal...