You Can Inherit Facebook Content Like a Letter or Diary, German Court Rules (qz.com)

A German court ruled Thursday that Facebook content can be passed onto heirs like letters, books, or diaries. The ruling comes after the parents of a teenager who died in 2012 after being hit by a train argued Facebook should allow them to access her account, including her private messages, to determine whether she committed suicide. "This would also help determine whether the driver of the train should be entitled to compensation," notes Quartz. From the report: Currently, Facebook's policy is to "memorialize" an account when the site is informed of someone's death. If a user has a "legacy contact" (here are instructions on how to set one up), Facebook grants them limited access to the user's account, allowing them change the user's profile picture, accept friend requests, or pin posts to the top of the user's profile. They can also ask the platform to delete the account. Recently, Facebook told Quartz, the company revised its policy to allow parents or guardians of minors to become legacy contacts after their child has died. In rare cases, the company says, authorized people, like family members, can request information from a deceased person's account, if they have a court order. But there's no guarantee they will get what they need.

A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement the company disagreed with the German ruling: "These questions -- how to weigh the wishes of the relatives and protect the privacy of third parties -- are some of the toughest we've confronted. We empathize with the family. At the same time, Facebook accounts are used for a personal exchange between individuals which we have a duty to protect. While we respectfully disagree with today's decision by [the court], the lengthy process shows how complex the issue under discussion is. We will be analyzing the judgment to assess its full implications."

Comments

Privacy and last will

[JaredOfEuropa]

Maybe just add another privacy option or two: "Do you wish your legacy contact to have access to your private conversations / contact list / ability to post or send messages on your behalf? [yes/no]". I'm not 100% sure if this is in line with current privacy laws, but it will at least make it easier for the relatives to accept what they are or aren't getting from the account.

Re: Privacy and last will

[guruevi]

The inheritors basically get full rights over your account, including control over those switches, unless you have specified in your will otherwise (which a minor in this case cannot do unless declared an adult by a court which depends on age, competence of the minor, circumstance and jurisdiction).

Just because a landlord (in this case FaceBook) thinks your property should be private doesn't make it so after you die, they do not get to make the decision whether your papers are to be shared with your heirs.

Re: Privacy and last will

[Entrope]

The appeals court ruling on this, that the parents could not access their dead daughter's account, always seemed wonky to me. Dead people don't usually have enforceable rights -- those devolve to the person's heirs. I'm glad the higher court corrected the error.

Re: Privacy and last will

[JaredOfEuropa]

Just because a landlord (in this case FaceBook) thinks your property should be private doesn't make it so after you die, they do not get to make the decision whether your papers are to be shared with your heirs

It's not FB making that decision; it's the last will of the deceased. Whether or not FB can withhold access even if explicitly ordered to do so by the account owner depends on the law of the land, I expect these to vary even within the EC. Over here, I can give a document to my notary for safekeeping, with instructions to destroy it when I die. Perfectly legal. In this case, the notary (like FB) acts as a custodian of your data. Your landlord is not a custodian of your stuff, he isn't even allowed (in most countries) to enter the property without permission except in emergencies.

Re: Privacy and last will

[jgdnavy]

If you accept the comparison to letters and diaries, then it wouldn't be any different than finding a shoebox full of letters. The sender of those letters had no say in whether or not you read them.

Re:Privacy and last will

[houghi]

That will not be legal. Even what you write in your will can not be legal. The content on Facebook is seen as an asset, just like a bank account, a house and debt. There is no reason to treat it differently, just because it is "On the Internet". This is not a patent.

And even a will might not be enough. A will is a bit stronger than just saying "I would like this to happen", but it does not overturn the law.

What happens in most (all?) EU countries is the following.

They (often a notary) will determine who gets what depending on the law. They will look at the whole estate, meaning everything.
This includes the assets and the debts and that will be divided as stated in the will AND according to the law.
In case of the kid dying, the assets will go to the parents. This includes all the wealth AND debt and goods the kid has.

As the FP content is seen as an asset, FB can not refuse the access, as that content is now owned by the parent. They can not be refused access to their own asset. That would be like a bank saying you do not get access top the money on a bank account.

You can ask people not to do it, but as they are the rightful owners, it is up to them if they follow up on that request or not.

Re:Privacy and last will

[nmo.marques]

Sounds troubling to send a message on behalf of a deceased person. Possible prosecution for identity theft. Dead peoples data should be destroyed.

Re: Privacy and last will

[drinkypoo]

That is not a correction. The last thing I want to happen after I die is my shitty family that has never given a shit about me to be in control of my online identity. The idea that they could slap their parting message on my content is horrifying. My father's obituary was nothing but lies (like "loving father") and I'd rather avoid that when I go. Not that I'll care then, but I find the prospect offensive now.

Re: Privacy and last will

[houghi]

SOMEBODY will be the heir. If you do not want it to be your family, you need to contact a lawer (and potentally a notary) right away to see what your options are.

Depending on where you live, it could well be that what you want is not legally possible. Imagine that it is possible where you live, then it will most likely be the state who receives your assets (including debts, assets, FB account and what not).

So you need to act now. You do not even have to inform anybody about it, although that would make things easier.

That said, the obituary has nothing to do with any of it. There is nobody forbidding me to say "Loving slashdoter" when you die.

I love you, man! (Grouphug!)

Re: Privacy and last will

[mr.mctibbs]

Then write a will. What's important here is not that the parents got the rights, but the finding that the rights are transferable. That they fell to the parents in this case was because the child in question was a minor, but any rights so transferable can be made by will to escheat to the state if you don't like your family.

Re: Now what about on-line purchases?

[guruevi]

Those are rentals. They are not purchases.

So... Facebook seems to treat your data...

[QuietLagoon]

... like property when they sell it to third parties, but did not treat you data like property for inheritance purposes. That just makes Facebook's business model look all the more egregious.

Re:Compensation from whom?

[Going_Digital]

Seems reasonable that if the they committed suicide and therefore intentionally subjected the driver to the stress of being an unwilling participant in their death. The driver should have the option of being compensated from the assets of the deceased due to their inconsiderate act. It is one thing to kill yourself it is quite another to involuntarily involve another person, that will have a significant impact on them.