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EFFECTIVE TODAY, THE private data of roughly 240 million active Twitter users has become an Irish problem.
The social networking giant has revealed in a blogpost that The Office of the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has officially taken on its privacy-care duties.
“If you live outside the United States, our services are now provided to you by Twitter International Company, our company based in Dublin, Ireland,” reads the post.
Twitter International Company will be responsible for handling your account information under Irish privacy and data protection law.
This means, that while Twitter users’ (outside the US) privacy will henceforth be handled by Twitter International Company, based in Dublin, the standards and laws by which Twitter will be held accountable are Irish.
Or, to put it another way, if Twitter users anywhere in the world outside America have an issue with how the social network is handling their personal data, their first port of call will be with the ODPC.
Ireland’s current commissioner is Helen Dixon who took over the role in September 2014.
Roughly 77% of Twitter’s 302 million active users are based outside America.
Privacy and Twitter is a thorny subject, one which for the most part remains very much a grey area legally.
But with prosecutions for online bullying and hate speech gradually on the increase, it’s an area that is going to become more and more heavily scrutinised globally.
So, no pressure then.
The increasingly important role of Ireland’s Commissioner was acknowledged by the government in last October’s budget, with funding for the ODPC almost doubled to €3.7 million.
Last month, Austrian privacy activist Max Schrems told his court action against Facebook in Vienna that he abandoned his privacy suit in Ireland in order to avoid “the madness of the Irish courts”.
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Alan Kelly will be giving a news conference tomorrow excitedly telling us all 240 million customers of Irish water have signed up .
Meanwhile the giant corporation Twitter thinks it ok to butt in on Irish affairs of the child. When corporates want a society to become something inline with their thinking, you better start worrying.
What do you mean you lost all the user’s passwords!?
This is a disaster just waiting to happen, there is no Data Protection in this country (and what little there is can seemingly be changed on a whim by the gangsters we have parading as government). If I was FB, I would be looking to a country with actual Data Protection laws, not the joke shop that passes for that department here in Ireland.
*Twitter, not Facebook :D
Yep, with the state of regulation is this country (job for the inept boys) this sure is a ‘disaster just waiting to happen’…. and the taxpayer will probably end up footing some bill.
On the contrary, data mining networks are based in Dublin precisely because our Data Protection / Data Privacy laws / regulations and enforcement are underdeveloped. We are not unique in this though. It gives Ireland a fresh opportunity to shape data protection and privacy for decades to come throughout the EU.
If we can apply the same energy as countries like Austria have in creating robust banking secrecy acts to protect some EU citizens, we can surely do the the same in data privacy for all EU citizens as the internet of things and cloud computing becomes the new normal.
Oh god no, please don’t say scary things such as “giving Ireland a fresh opportunity to shape data protection”. The Irish governments idea of data protection is that it’s grand up to a certain point, but if they make decisions that are wildly unpopular with the public and related to taxes, they will just tweak the relevant sections of the Data Protection act to get their way. Data Protection legislation should be completely robust and completely untouchable without referendum. That unfortunately is not the Irish way.
Munster2014, data protection in Ireland is not the responsibility of a Govt Dept. It is the responsibility of the Data Protection Commissioner. That office was established pursuant to an EU Directive. The purpose of data protection is not to stop data sharing but to ensure that the sharing of personal data is safe and proportionate. If you stop Govt sharing data then you can not have effective public services. The problem in Ireland is not too much data sharing in Govt. it is too little data sharing. We should share data but lawfully and safely and for the benefit of joined up services than benefit citizens. If you think we share too much data in Ireland then travel around Europe. Virtually every civil law country routinely shares more data than Ireland. And most have national identity cards as well. Strangely enough their public devices work more smoothly!
@Munster2014 I understand your ennui with Governments in Ireland to get things done. However, Governments come and go; don’t underestimate the quality and calibre of some our civil servants who are the permanent Government.
Dedicated people across many offices and departments which relate to data have the energy to shape and positively change our approach to data generally; because if we don’t help them shape policy, we will be left working with regulations and practices dreamed up by others in EU countries who may not have the same priorities in their hearts. We need to support the change in data management we want to see. We can start by supporting Transparency International Ireland @Transparency_ie
I suppose they can all expect Irish Water Bills then seeing as the government so freely disclose people’s data to the utility!
The Data Protection Commissioner: about as fearsome as the 2 Gardaí in the D’Unbelievables sketch – “Ah ye can’t be doin’ that lads”.
You obviously haven’t been under scrutiny from them. I have and believe me their powers are frightening. I was the victim of an ‘anonymous’ tip off (turned out to be a competitor) but those guys have powers of search and seizure that the Gardai can only dream about. When i complained, i was basically told to suck it up. That was by two ministers.
That was in your case. This is Ireland – the little guy/girl experiences the full rigours of the law while the ruling elite and MNCs have a finger wagged in their general direction are gently admonished while not actually being penalised in any way for their actions. Twitter fall into the second category so I think “ye can’t be doing that lads” still applies.
What madman put anyone involved in the government in charge of Twitter privacy
KPMG?
Billy the Govt aren’t in charge of Twitter privacy. Read the article.
Best not tell Irish water . they just love getting everyone’s data. Even the dead. They are probably getting all excited thinking they can sign up all 240 million new customers. After all they just register who they like.
And this is why Twitter will eventually fail.
2 very different standards of Data Protection, one of which is backed up by a legal system, the other a set of rules that will be enforced with a view to keeping jobs here.
Has she re-located from her office above the Centra in Portarlington yet?
Hard to take her seriously until he does!!
They set up a second office in Dublin ti deal with twitter/Facebook etc
Winding_down, why is it hard to take the office seriously because they work in an office outside of Dublin with a ground floor which has a convenience store? Walk around Dublin and you’ll see the same everywhere. You’re buying into the propaganda from some other EU states that have their offices located in very swanky State buildings. This makes them more independent just how?
And that last paragraph sums up why they are trusting this to Ireland. Less chance of a successful challenge in the Irish courts.
All I can say is, God help us all, if this is truly the case. Our Data Commissioner is a mere figurehead to comply with EU regulations. If any Commissioner actually attempted to regulate ANYTHING in this country they would be slapped down pdq.
Vote no.
An article about Twitter privacy , and we still can’t escape hearing about this fcuking referendum.
They really need to get an new office and at least look the part. They’re a bit of an online, running joke, at this point: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/05/linkedin_probe_ireland_data_cops_keep_stumm_over_outcome/
O holy jasus them poor poor Twitter users. There identities will be sold all over the world and it won’t be discovered for months. The government will then try and hide it and then a tribunal.
And just think it was the twitter account of the Boards. ie forum that was hacked in 2010 by a young Latvian 17 year old leaving all the boards.ie users exposed!
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