Families to inherit Facebook accounts: Delaware becomes first U.S. state to allow heirs of dead people to access social media and emails 

  • Law allows access to digital accounts to be passed down like other property
  • Relatives will be able to access social media, bank accounts, and emails
  • Under current law giving account access to someone else is forbidden

Delaware law will allow a deceased person's relatives to inherit access to all of their online accounts, such as social media, email and banking

Delaware law will allow a deceased person's relatives to inherit access to all of their online accounts, such as social media, email and banking

Delaware has become the first U.S. state to legally allow people to inherit their dead relatives' online accounts, including Facebook and iTunes.

Under the new law digital property will be treated in exactly the same way as physical property after somebody passes away, meaning it can be passed on to others in a will.

At the moment the terms and conditions of websites such as Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon mean that control of an account cannot always be passed on to someone else.

It is legal to pass on laptops, tablets or phones with data such as iTunes tracks loaded on to them.

However, if the device breaks or the new owner wants to transfer the files to a different device, they may encounter problems.

For example, Facebook's terms and conditions forbids users from sharing their password or transferring the account to another person without written permission from the company.

Under the new law, relatives of the deceased will be given access to all of their online information including emails, social network accounts, online banking, shopping, web hosting and domain name management accounts.

Some states already allow people to include specific passwords in their will, meaning they can choose what relatives will have access to, but the new law allows automatic access to all online data. 

At the moment it is legal to pass on devices such as laptops and iPods with data already loaded on to them, but handing over full control of a digital account is usually forbidden

At the moment it is legal to pass on devices such as laptops and iPods with data already loaded on to them, but handing over full control of a digital account is usually forbidden

TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY 

Physical property is governed by the 'first sale doctrine', meaning the person who purchased it has full access to it.

This allows that property to be passed on to others after death, without any terms attached.

However, digital property is governed by the 'end user licence agreement'.

This is usually included in the terms and conditions you must agree to in order to make purchases on most sites.

This agreement usually includes a clause meaning passwords for accounts, or access to accounts, cannot be passed on to others. 

State Rep. Darryl Scott told Ars Technica: 'This problem is an example of something we see all the time in our high-tech age--our laws simply haven't kept up with advancements in technology.

'By signing this bill into law, we're helping to protect the rights and interests of the average person in the face of a rapidly evolving digital world.' 

However a Jim Halpert, director of a group which represents Yahoo, Facebook, Google and other digital firms, said he opposes the new law.

He said that the new bill could breach the privacy of people the deceased has messaged online who may still be alive. 

The bill, known as HB 345, makes it clear that the law will only apply if the will is governed by Delaware law, and will not necessarily be affected by where the person lived or where the company holding the online accounts is based. 

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