Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
63. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Justice if he is considering legislating to allow families to avail of the digital right to be forgotten by erasing the social media profiles of a deceased person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16890/23]
View answerThe Government is very conscious of the commitment to deliver effective data protection regulation and protection of the data privacy rights of EU citizens.
The Programme for Government commits to ‘recognise the domestic and international importance of data protection in Ireland’ and states that the Government ‘will ensure that Ireland delivers on its responsibilities under the General Data Protection Regulation’. It should be noted that the GDPR does not apply to the personal data of deceased persons.
The rights of the relatives of deceased persons to control the social media accounts of a relative will, largely, depend on the terms and conditions of the consumer contract entered into with the social media service provider.
The Deputy may be aware of the Digital Services Act (DSA), an EU Regulation that came into force on 16 November 2022 that will apply to intermediary service providers (ISPs), including social media sites and search engines. It is designed to combat the proliferation of illegal content online, imposing specific obligations on those providers that are intended to improve, for example, transparency, handling of complaints, and risk management. The number and type of obligations on any one platform or search engine will depend on the nature of the services it provides and the number of users it has in the EU.
While the provisions of the Digital Services Act are not specific to the digital right to be forgotten, its enhanced transparency and new complaint handling procedures is expected to support effective engagement with the providers. My Department has no responsibility for this legislation, which is under the remit of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
