[bacon]

Ahh the wonders of the digital age. Think about all the pleasures it brings, but like it or not it also brings unforeseen problems. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal touched on a issue many members of this forum might have noticed, that is having dead facebook friends, and what happens to their accounts after they die.

From the article:

"U.S. and Canadian laws, which are similar for the most part, don't treat digital assets like physical ones that can be distributed according to wills. In 1986, Congress passed a law forbidding consumer electronic-communications companies from disclosing content without its owner's consent or a government order like a police investigation.

Facebook Inc., which by one estimate saw 580,000 American members die this year, has gone to court to oppose the notion that families can compel it to hand over data.

Mr. Campagna has struggled to maintain that kind of control online. "His Facebook page is one of only a few things we have left of him," he says.

So he has kept the account active, which he is able to do because his brother had given him the password. But he's sensitive about his brother's suicide and doesn't want B.J.'s profile tarnished by off-color comments or gruesome details about his cause of death.

The Facebook official said the company's "hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones." Memorialization, he said, is designed to respect the privacy of the dead. "Allowing ongoing access to accounts," he said, "could potentially run afoul of federal wiretapping law as well as state computer trespass and online impersonation laws."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...31346.html

[BoiBoi]

One of my friends got murdered 2 years ago and on his facebook there are nothing but condolences and farewells. Im not really seeing the problem here.

[bacon]

the problem is who should have ownership of accounts following death if the deceased did not tell disclose his facebook password before he/she died. who has the legal right to have access to that following death? should there be an expectation of privacy to not give away passwords of the deceased personal accounts following their death?

[AntiTrace]

I have a few friends that have been killed over the years. Their facebook accounts are still open.

My feelings are mixed.

I like the fact I can post on their walls on those days when I miss them the most and write a quit birthday note, its a good way to remember them when I can't visit their graves due to where they are buried.

It also gets pretty depressing when they pop up in the sidebar. Sometimes it just brings back memories of the way they were killed, which is something I do like to think about.

I don't feel anyone should get the rights to their accounts. The pages should be left up as an online memorial with no one having access to it. There is no need for someone to be posting under a deceased persons account, tag them in your own post if have something to say.

[Shrodax]

I've considered appointing someone to be the executor of my Facebook profile after I'm dead, with the condition they keep posting updates on my behalf, as if it's me posting from the afterlife.

"sure is hot here. lol"

[Dulceácido]

Another in a long list of reasons to not have a Facebook page. Problem solved.