The Hindu : Front Page : What happens to digital data when someone dies?

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Sunday, Apr 12, 2009
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What happens to digital data when someone dies?

Sruthi Krishnan

CHENNAI: Ms. X was someone who could not brush her teeth without peeking into her inbox. While checking email, she decided to upload photos of her Europe trip, transfer funds online and re-charge her i-tunes account, for she badly wanted to download Dilli 6’s songs. As she squeezed out the last bit of toothpaste, the bell rang. While sprinting to answer the door, she tripped on a wayward wire and died.

Now the question is – what happens to Ms. X’s email accounts, her recharged i-tunes account and her photos on a gondola? Simply put, what happens to the digital content we generate after we die?

Digital existence

Given our increasingly digital existence, it is perhaps pragmatic to view our digital information as ‘assets’ and make legacy arrangements, just as we would in the real world, says Aarthi S. Anand, corporate attorney and IT law specialist. But you have to be cautious about labelling all digital data as assets (with monetary impact), as email includes bank statements as well as discount offers.

Say email is viewed as a digital asset. So the email service providers, such as MSN Hotmail and Gmail, should not have any issues in giving the password of someone who has died to the next of kin. Right? Not if you are James Bond, says Rahul Cherian, a specialist in copyright law and partner in IndoJuris Law Offices.

If James Bond died and his service provider gave his password to Mrs. Bond, then the secret service agency could sue the provider for sharing top-secret spy stuff. In place of James Bond, think Ms. X and substitute ex-boyfriend whose mails are in Ms. X’s account in place of the secret service agency; you have material for a soap opera.

There are four parties involved in this case – the account holder who is dead; the service provider; the next of kin; and the other person whose content is in the account, explains Mr. Cherian. Though it would be a violation of Ms. X’s privacy if her emails with her ex-boyfriend are shared, she cannot sue the service provider for obvious reasons. But her ex-boyfriend can. Hence from the perspective of the service provider, it would be best to wait for a court order before sharing the account information, he says.

Technology solutions could evolve, says Ms. Anand. For instance, the user could indicate a legal nominee, by providing an email address, and given a button option, could choose the data that may be accessed, says Ms. Anand. This may make it easy to provide the next of kin with treasured photos from a vacation and other mementos.

As such technology is not there, before clicking on ‘I agree’ to the terms and conditions, check whether the service provider’s procedures of providing data to the next of kin are simple, she says.

There are some services online that store access information for digital accounts and provide that to designated beneficiaries, such as Legacy Locker ( www.legacylocker.com).

Or you could go the old-fashioned way by storing password information on paper or your laptop, says Ms. Anand. But this too has its own share of security risks.

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