This is a thought that probably occurs to most social media users at some or other point: what happens when I pass away? The fact is that our social media accounts could well contain some private information; or interactions /communications that we don’t want anyone else to be privy to. In the event that one dies unexpectedly, what would happen? Are there specific laws governing this in the UAE?
If the Facebook is not informed about or does not otherwise find out about the user's death the account will simply continue. If people choose to interact with the account or post on their wall they can do so if the user had chosen to permit this while alive. It is thought that there are about 30 million dead people’s user profiles still on Facebook.
The survivors of a dead person can request Facebook to remove the account of their loved one from Facebook. There would be some verification required to ensure that legitimate family members are making such a request and that the person is in fact deceased.
FB also lets the accounts of deceased users to be memorialised. If a user has not left instructions for their account to be deleted after death, the account will be memorialised when Facebook realises that the user has passed on. Memorialised accounts let friends and family post on the page of the deceased to share memories, condolences and so on. Photos and other shared content will remain visible to audiences determined by the user’s privacy choices before passing away. Others cannot log into or operate memorialised accounts.
FB recommends the appointment of a legacy contact who can look after the memorialised account of a deceased user. The legacy can write a pinned post (regarding circumstances of death, memorial service etc), respond to new friends requests and update profile images. They can also request the removal of the deceased’s account. The legacy contact cannot read messages, log in, remove friends or make new friend requests, or make any changes to past posts and shared content.
In the UAE, certain specific provisions have been made with regard to users of social media who pass away, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. An announcement relating to this was made at The Wills Service Centre at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) recently.
The statement issued said that those who have wills registered with the appropriate authority in Dubai can appoint a person to access and manage their social media accounts. As the ownership of assets and properties can be willed to survivors, so can social media accounts. The person can also make it clear that their accounts should be deactivated after death and that no other person be given access to them. This statement is in line with a recent German ruling that permits heirs to access the social media accounts of deceased individuals.
Though these regulations are reasonably clear, many grey areas remain. YouTube views and revenues, crypto currencies and other digital assets can be very valuable. Very clear instructions would be required for these. Further one 2017 survey showed that almost 90% of UAE residents would want their social media accounts to be disabled in the event of their death. There is some ambivalence in the case of those who do not leave a will or specific instructions regarding their social accounts. As things stand now, it is advisable for all social media users to create specific instructions about their account in the event of their death – because as they say, life is unsure; we don’t know what can happen tomorrow.
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