Facebook After Death: What Happens to Your Account When You Die?
Have you ever wondered what happens to a Facebook page after someone passes away?
Last week in New Hampshire, the House of Representatives voted 222-128 to allow State Rep. Peter Sullivan ample time to write an amendment that fully explores the issue of social media rights after death. Sullivan introduced legislation that would give the executor of an estate, in many cases being the parent or guardian, control over the social networking pages of the deceased.
According to Sullivan, the passage of his bill would begin to close the wide gap in privacy policies of social media sites, especially for posthumous account holders. "This would give the families a sense of closure, a sense of peace."
He further added that his bill would protect residents who have suffered loss. "It would help prevent this form of bullying that continues even after someone dies and nobody is really harmed by it."
In an interview with WMUR, a local station in NH, Sullivan shared a tragic story about a young Canadian girl who committed suicide because she had been a victim of bullying. The ridiculing continued on her Facebook page well after her death.
"The family didn't have access to her account; they [weren't] able to do anything," said Sullivan. Without account access, they could not delete the comments or shut the account down altogether.
Five other states, including Idaho, Rhode Island, Indiana, Oklahoma and Connecticut, have all created legislation regulating social media presence in absentia. Connecticut and Rhode Island were first, but their bills were restricted solely to email accounts, excluding social networking sites.
