Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen has ruled out EU legislative action on the digital data of deceased persons, arguing that existing EU laws already provide sufficient protection and that no problematic fragmentation among member states has been identified. The answer, published on 1 July 2026, responds to a written question from Renew MEP Yvan Verougstraete, who had warned that the lack of a harmonised framework leaves platforms free to commercially or algorithmically exploit the data of the deceased. Virkkunen pointed to the AI Act, the Data Act, and copyright directives as already covering aspects of post-mortem data, while noting that the GDPR explicitly leaves the matter to national law via Recital 27. The Commission will monitor the situation but currently sees no need for a legislative initiative. The decision favours legal continuity and national sovereignty over consumer protection and digital rights, with heirs and platform companies as the main stakeholders. Heirs may face fragmented access rules across member states, while platforms retain contractual discretion absent EU harmonisation.
The answer contains no concrete proposals, deadlines, or numerical targets, signalling a low priority for EU-level action in the near term. Institutional follow-up is limited to monitoring, with no scheduled review or stakeholder consultation announced.