what happens with a deceased person's social media accounts (facebook, g+, twitter & linkedin)

7/28/2019 What Happens With a Deceased Person's Social Media Accounts (Facebook, G+, Twitter & LinkedIn)

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What happens with a deceased person's

social media accounts?

By Kristjan-Paul Raude


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Introduction

In today's social media there has come upsituations where users, although they are dead,

live on virtually. This has happened due to the

complexity of an account deletion andtransposition meanwhile causing unnecessary

pain for the loved ones.


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Who owns the information we leave behing in social

media?

This has been a point of dispute for some time.The regulations state that the users must be able

to access their own information and have the

right to manage it on their lifetime. Internationallaws have failed to regulate what happens with

possessing information and account access when

the owner dies.


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How to erase the social media account after the death

of the user?

There is a global intellectual property law forwritings where the heirs have the right to possessthe content for another 60 years after the death ofthe author.

The problem is with online content as law does notregulate the management of intellectual propertyon the Internet after the death of an author.

Thereof the account management and deleting isextremely difficult or even impossible for the lovedones.


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Facebook

Facebook used to automatically delete accountafter a month when the user was declared dead.

On demand of users request Facebook created

memorial function.Nevertheless, it is believed that Facebook has over

30 million dead accounts.


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Important rules:

In order to protect the privacy of the deceased person Facebookhas created memorization pages.

Facebook does not give away holder ID or password, but asks tocontactvia a memorialization request.

To delete the deceased persons account an identified loved

ones have to make a request to Facebook. Identified means thatFacebook needs a dead person's birth or death certificatessubmitted by the person who is identified by the notary.

If you want to possess the deceased persons account profileand information you need to have a notarial document and

fulfill an application on Facebook's website.

In addition, Facebook notes that the submission of an applicationdoes not guarantee that your request is satisfied.


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Memorization page

2012 RAM. All rights reserved.


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Twitter

Twitter makes account deletion easier but it is stillnecessary to have a notarial document that

proves your relation with the deceased one.

Twitter provides an opportunity to close theaccount and all the information will be

automatically deleted.


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Required information for account deletion:

The username of the deceased user's Twitteraccount (e.g., @username or

twitter.com/username)

A copy of the deceased users death certificate

A copy of your government-issued ID (e.g.,

drivers license)

A signed statement by notary


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LinkedIn

LinkedIn expects that the account will be shutdown, however LinkedIn maintains the right to usethe account data. To delete the account you needto contact the customer service and fill in a specific

application. The application can be signed digitally and it will be

automatically sent to LinkedIn customer serviceand a copy to the applier. To submit theapplication you need to know the persons LinkedInregistration e-mail, otherwise the application willbe rejected.


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Google+

Google has different services that are allconnected with each other. Deleting Google

account results in deleting all related account. It is

possible to delete only Google+ account via Gmailcustomer service.


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Two part scheme (Part one):

Google expect to have: full name,

physical mailing address,

e-mail address,

a photocopy of the government-issued ID or the driverslicense,

the Gmail address

and the death certificate of the deceased person. If the

document is not in English it should have certified Englishtranslation that has been prepared by a competenttranslator and notarized.


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Two part scheme (Part two):

If Google decides that the first part was donecorrectly, they will ask additional information,

like legal documents, including an order from a

U.S. court and/or additional materials.

When the paperwork is successfully done it is

possible to get an access to the account or shutdown all Google services including Google +.


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Conclusion

Each social media environment has differentsolution for the problem. However, the commonthread that is needed is a signed document fromloved ones and a death certificate of the deceased

person. The difference arises from the fact that some

environments provide access to the account,others delete it or retain the right to use accountinformation. The law does not set the rules forInternet intellectual property as an inheritance.


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No right solution!

There are two ways to make it less harmful forrelatives. Either to let them decide what happenswith social media accounts of the deceased personor let each person set the settings while they are

alive. There is no one rule or a right solution across all

social media accounts. It is clear that whentechnology keeps such a fast development,opportunities and environments change, butmourning psychologically remains the same.People need time and environment in which togrieve and to say what left unsaid.


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About the author

Kristjan-Paul RaudeWSI Online Managing partner

E-mail: [email protected]

www.wsionline.ee
mailto:[email protected]://www.wsionline.ee/http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_6/ee.linkedin.com/in/kristjanpaulraude/https://twitter.com/KristjanRaudehttp://www.wsionline.ee/mailto:[email protected]


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THANK YOU!

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