Coping With Death and Facebook

Ramsey Mohsen on KCTV5: Google changing privacy policy (Photo credit: ramseymohsen)

Do you know that even if you inherited the dead user’s password, it’s against Facebook’s terms of service for you to use it?

‘As of 2012, 30 million people who maintained Facebook accounts have died, according to a report by The Huffington Post. Some studies approximate that nearly 3 million users have died in 2012 alone; 580,000 in the U.S.

‘So what happens to all those suddenly abandoned profiles? Their fate could go one of four ways:

-The profile remains untouched, unaccessed, unreported and therefore open to everyday wall posts, photo tags, status mentions and Facebook ads. In other words, business as usual.

-A family member or close friend may choose to report a death to Facebook. Upon receipt of proof of death, such as a death certificate or local obituary, Facebook will switch the dead user’s timeline to a “memorial page.”

-A close family member may petition Facebook to deactivate a dead user’s account.

-Users may gain access to a dead user’s profile in one of two ways: either through knowledge of the dead user’s password, a practice against Facebook’s terms of service, or through a court subpoena. However, per Facebook’s privacy policy and strict state law, courts rarely grant outside access to said social data. More on that later…’
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The Mayo Clinic Health Manager
No matter where you receive your health care, this free service will help you organize and manage your family’s health online, offering personalized guidance developed by the experts at Mayo Clinic.

Create and update a profile for each family member so health information is organized and easy to find. Access your Health Manager account online whenever you need it. And keep your profile up to date easily. Through HealthVault, bring in additional data from labs and pharmacies, as well as personal monitoring devices, to ensure a current health record that you can access from any Internet connection.
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Will a 100-Word Privacy Policy Work?
Chau’s proposed bill is beneficial to consumers but will it be feasible?

“The privacy policy required by this section shall be no more than 100 words and shall be written in clear and concise language at no greater than an eighth grade reading level. The privacy policy shall include a statement indicating whether the personally identifiable information may be sold or shared with others, and if so, how and with whom the information may be shared.” Assembly Bill 242 proposed by California Assemblymember Ed Chau (D-Alhambra).

‘It sounds good. It really does. A privacy policy in 100 words or less, in simple language that even an eighth grader could understand. But is this a realistic answer to industry concerns, or just the latest in a slew of half-baked attempts by lawmakers to tackle the privacy issue? Does the bill have a chance of passing – and if so, would it be the answer to very public privacy problems?…’
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