That humans are mortal is nothing new. But what is new is that over the past two decades they have amassed digital assets that didn’t exist before. Have you ever asked yourself the question: what will happen to my accounts on social networks and messengers, to a cloud archive full of e-mails and photos, to domains and websites, or to an e-wallet and accounts on trading platforms?
Posthumous account
In 2012, the parents of a 15-year-old girl from Berlin tried to log into her Facebook account after their daughter jumped under a train. Her parents wanted to find out what led her to commit suicide, as they suspected that she was a victim of cyberbullying. However, the social network did not allow them access to it, her account was permanently disabled.
Only after six years of litigation in 2018 did the German Supreme Court rule that when it comes to inheritance, social media accounts are no different from personal letters and diaries, meaning they must be transferred to legal heirs — in this case, parents.
But why did this process take so long? Because the IT industry does not agree on a similar definition of digital assets. There are usually two counterarguments. First, Facebook and other service providers are governed by the Personal Data Protection Act. Such data cannot be transferred to third parties without the consent of the owner. It is true that the owner is dead in this case, but the people with whom he exchanged messages are still alive and did not give permission to read their correspondence. Another reason for rejecting the request of potential heirs is that many digital services provide their products on a license basis – as a temporary use service. And the law does not specify whether such type of “lease” can be inherited. In some countries, domains are registered under a service contract and these services are not included in the deceased’s will.
Rules for digital cemeteries
Since inheritance laws do not apply to digital assets, the responsibility rests on the shoulders of companies that have their own rules, as well as what steps the testator took before his death. Some domain registrars allow the domain to be transferred to a next of kin upon submission of the necessary documents.
Other services are starting to introduce a similar policy. The latest versions of iOS allow you to designate a designated contact, or digital successor, who will have access to your Apple ID in the event of your death. It’s true that not all of your digital assets will be made available to your chosen heir. In particular, they will not get access to your e-books, movies, music or other purchases made online (remember, a digital book is not a book, but a temporary rental service).
For Google Accounts, this feature is called Manage Inactive Accounts. Your designated successor will have access to your data if the account is inactive for a longer period of time (you set the period of inactivity yourself).
You can also inform Facebook in advance of your posthumous wishes regarding your account and have it removed completely, or specify an authorized contact to manage it. However, he won’t be able to change old content, read messages, or delete friends, he can only change your profile picture, post a memory, and allow selected friends to write tributes to a special memory feed. In addition, the authorized contact must have their own Facebook account (the social network never misses an opportunity to strengthen its user base).
However, the rules vary between services and each has its own nuances. There are already tens of millions of accounts of people who have left us on social networks. As in the case of account deletion, it is necessary to provide platforms such as Instagram, LinkedIn with documents proving the death of the owner. In many cases, the accounts continue to be handled by relatives and sometimes even complete strangers who feed off the fame of the deceased. It should not be forgotten that even the social networks themselves automatically invite us to wish the deceased a happy birthday, which can unintentionally confront us with painful memories. It’s possible that in virtual metaverses of the future, the dead will roam the streets aimlessly like in the worst zombie apocalypse movie.
What you can do in your lifetime
Let’s recap it. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but everyone can take care of what happens to our digital possessions when the candle goes out.
One option is to make a will with a lawyer in which you list your digital assets and their heirs. Even if inheritance law in your country does not apply to such assets, a will can help in disputes. Read what rules the digital service provider you use has and what needs to be done in the settings or contracts. For example, funds in electronic wallets can pass to the rightful heirs without additional measures, since the money is subject to inheritance law. However, in the case of e-mails, various digital storages and social networks, it makes sense to set up an authorized contact in the service.
Your heirs will need to find out what the procedure is for gaining access for each such service. If you have set up a trusted contact, he will have to submit, for example, a document or an electronic code. Many services (Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn) do not transfer access to the accounts of deceased users to anyone. At the request of relatives, they can delete the account or make it permanent. However, this also requires the necessary documentation. And in certain cases, you may have to prove your rights in court.
Experts from the Kaspersky Global Research & Analysis Team (GReAT) Deputy Director Marco Preuss and Senior Security Researcher Dan Demeter highlighted a number of other factors to consider while we live in their session “Digital Life and Physical Death” at the RSA 2023 conference .
It is necessary to decide in advance what kind of data you want to transfer, in what format and on what medium it will be stored. Unfortunately, the lifespan of modern storage media is 5-30 years, so digital archives need to be regularly updated and transferred to more mature media. Don’t rely too much on cloud storage. How many of them have been closed in the last 10 years?
If your digital storage contains documents in specific formats, also provide software to open them. Imagine that you have valuable documents in, for example, SuperCalc or other outdated formats. Convert documents to modern open formats or attach a copy of software that can open them. The same goes for any specialized hardware that may be required to access your data.
Include a detailed description of everything you’ve collected, where it’s located, and how to use it. In addition to the text description, it is worth adding an audio or video recording, which, in addition to the instructions, will clearly explain your wishes, what to do with your digital heritage.
Keep passwords, private keys, and other tools for accessing encrypted and private data in a secure, separate location. It is important to say that neither passwords nor private keys are included in the will. In some countries, wills become a matter of public record. The most reliable way to store them is a dedicated digital safe. Allow a trusted person to access this storage and remember instructions such as “Delete everything”.
It is important to choose the right person so that you do not happen to the writer Vladimir Nabokov. His instructions were to destroy the manuscript of the last unfinished novel. However, his wife did not agree with him and the son published his father’s texts in Playboy magazine.
Source: vat.pravda.sk
