What do you do with the social media platforms of your dead loved ones?
“The departed possess no entitlement and can endure no wrong.” Sir James Stephen: 1887
Have you ever wondered what to do with the Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account of your close family member who passed away? It is a jarring experience. In addition to the constant remainder, social media accounts of the demised can lead to security issues.
Tricksters often graze obituaries to acquire information of the deceased coupled with extra details posted on their social media platforms. They then assume the dead identity by utilizing their data. Annually, scammers often rob the identities of over 2.5 million departed individuals to obtain new mobile phones, make online purchases, and apply for loans or credit cards, among other dubious activities. Moreover, such malicious people hack the accounts of the demised to attain any link on bank details and card data.
Several legal regulations outline that the dead have no liberty. However, some legal institutions have spent a significant amount of time striving to preserve the rights of the deceased. This leads us to Post Mortem rights, which suggest that the personal data of an individual should be protected even after death.
The most common method of exercising Post Mortem Privacy and Data Protection is Commodification of Personal Data, which advocates for the “Data Freedom” of deceased individuals. This means that data regulators maintain access and the authority to process information of such individuals. Another approach to preserving the privacy rights of a departed user is through contract law. When a person opens an account, say Facebook or Instagram, he or she must agree to the “Terms of Service” issued by the service provider. These “Terms of Service” displayed on online platforms are contractual and generally liable in court.
Facebook offers the option of memorializing a deceased member’s account. A memorialized account displays the term “Remembering” next to the individual’s identity on their profile. No one can access a memorialized account, thus maintaining the security of personal data.
Facebook also offers an option of deleting the demised account. A close family member will have to provide proof of relationship to the deceased and a photograph or scan of their death certificate. In case the death certificate is unavailable, you can use an estate letter or obituary, a last will/testament/birth certificate/memorial card/ an attorney power in its place.
Similarly to Facebook, you can memorialize or delete the account of your deceased member on Instagram. When an account is memorialized, no one can be able to make any updates or post on the page. To remove the account, you need to provide proof of your immediate relation to the late by posting their birth or death certificate and legal evidence that you have legal representation of the deceased person.
Twitter enables family members or authorized individuals to delete or deactivate a demised account upon submitting a request. Twitter then sends an email with instructions. You will need to offer proof of death by uploading your loved one’s death certificate and a copy of your ID.
LinkedIn helps you remove your late member’s account after submitting a form indicating information about your loved one. You can also provide your connection to them, their profile URL, your member’s email address, the organization they recently worked with, the date they died, and a link or copy of their obituary.
Snapchat
Snapchat also deletes a deceased loved one’s account after you fill their form and submit a copy of their death certificate.
To remove this account, send an email to care@pinterest.com, indicating your details as well as the name, address, and username of the departed. You’ll also need to provide proof of death like the obituary link, death certificate, a scan of the newspaper obituary along with evidence of association e.g., marriage certificate, or your name on the obituary.
Up-front Preparation
Some social media platforms offer planning tools in the event of an untimely death; for example, Google incorporates an active account manager, and Facebook provides a legacy contact.
You can also write down what you want your family member or close friend you trust to do with your social media accounts in the event of your demise-do you want your reports to continue existing or do want them removed.
Commodification of Personal Data, however, proves inadequate because the terms of service agreements place the deceased at the mercy of a service provider who may overlook the demised requirements concerning how his or her confidentiality should be handled. These “Terms of Agreement” are also much written to the advantage of the service provider, therefore leaving the privacy rights of the deceased even more exposed.